re = /(.*?): (.*)/m
str = 'Matthäuspassion, SWV 479: Introitus:Test
Matthäuspassion, SWV 479:Introitus:Test
letztlich
Matthäuspassion, SWV 479: Introitus - Test
Erster Text, zweiter Text : Dritter Text
Vierter Text, fünfter Text : Sechster Text
Siebter Text, achter Text : Neunter Text'
subst = '$1 xxx $2'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html