Both members worked a lot in other projects in the years before. Conny played the violin for more than ten years and performed in many orchestras. She also sang in some classical choruses and as a soloist, and is familiar with baroque and romantic compositions like G.F. Handel, E. Grieg or Pergolesi.
Olaf was in his childhood a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle", the oldest chorus of the world. Later, he played in many musical projects and bands, and also composed for TV. He studied musicology and philosophy.
In 1994 the second album, "Porta VIII" (Hyperium), was released. It has a concept based on the fairy tale "Ariadne et Barbe Bleue" by Maurice Maeterlinck, but "Porta VIII" is a continuation of the original fairy tale. This album too was selling more than 10 000 copies worldwide and climbed the Mexican charts.
Since 1997 there was a new line-up. Conny left sToa to follow her classical career, and the new singer was Antje Buchheiser. Buchheiser had been playing violin for more than eleven years, and had been singing in the classical chorus "Hallenser Madrigalisten". She performed a lot in classical music, in, among others, Germany, Japan and Cuba.
Another new member since 1996 was Christiane Fischer. She plays cello and is singing the second voice at live concerts. sToa signed to the German publisher Alster Musikverlag. In 1997 the band left their old label Hyperium for various reasons.
sToa performed sporadically at special places or events. They played for example at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in a one hundred years old and eighty metres high monument in front of more than 1 000 people, at the “Zeche Carl” in Essen, in the Netherlands and several times in Mexico (inter alia with the Goethe-Institut).
In 2001 they finished their album "Zal". It was released worldwide, but first in Mexico at "Samadhi Musik". sToa signed to the German label "Alice in ...", where they released "Zal" for the rest of the world and re-released "Urthona" and "Porta VIII". The singer on "Zal" was Antje Buchheiser.
In 2008 sToa returned with international line-up. The new album "Silmand" was released on September 26th. "Silmand" means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. The female voices on the album belong to sToa's new main-singer Mandy Bernhardt and the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John-Krol. Furthermore, the Dutchman Pieter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death). One of the songs on "Silmand" was already used as film score ("Tacitum"). The title of the song "Hanuz Nist" comes from the Persian lyrics written by Hassan Dehlawi at the 14th century.
A Drinking Song
sToa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
In sToa's song "A Drinking Song", the lyrics suggest a correlation between the experience of drinking wine and falling in love. The song begins with the line "Wine comes in at the mouth, and love comes in at the eye." This suggests that both drinking and falling in love are sensual experiences that involve the senses of taste and sight. The line "That's all we shall know for truth before we grow old and die" implies that the singer recognizes the fleeting nature of these experiences and suggests that they are limited to our physical existence on earth.
The second verse describes the singer lifting their glass to their mouth and looking at someone, possibly their lover, before sighing. The sigh could be interpreted as one of contentment, a recognition of the pleasures of both drinking and being in love. The song gently explores the similarities between these two experiences and reminds the listener to enjoy life's pleasures while they still can.
Overall, "A Drinking Song" is an introspective and philosophical meditation on the nature of pleasure and the fleetingness of life. It suggests that we must cherish the moments of beauty and joy that we experience in life, be they through drinking, love or any other form, because these moments are all we have.
Line by Line Meaning
Wine comes in at the mouth
As we drink wine, we allow it to enter our bodies through our mouths.
And love comes in at the eye
We often fall in love with someone through our initial attraction to their physical appearance.
That's all we shall know for truth
These two experiences - drinking wine and falling in love - are the only certainties in life.
Before we grow old and die.
We only have a limited time on earth to experience these pleasures before death.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
As I drink wine, I raise the glass to my mouth.
I look at you, and I sigh.
In your presence, I feel overwhelmed with emotion and sigh with contentment.
Contributed by Elizabeth D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dzmitryvalasiuk8012
Просто супер. И это не нужно комментировать.
Очень люблю Stoa, очень приятно слышать эти таинственные тексты. Просто продолжайте, парни . Вы очень классно звучите.
@mamtaagarwal4716
Irish Poet yeats beautiful composition set to music by stoa, soul stirring
@ivangallardoom
raririty of Stoa very POP maybe singular ERA obiusly beautiful