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.
Broken Glass
sToa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You bore my imprint there;
Carried my feet to the clear lake
For glass lay everywhere.
Under broken shards
Were dreams that never lived,
But they saved lives so many times
From a bus you saw an old man
Crying about his past,
But he was playing on his violin
A memory made to last.
Are we destined to find
Darkness deep and vast?
Regrets so scattered through our minds
Shine like broken glass -
Where hope had lured by the thousand
You gently lay me down...
The song "Broken Glass" by sToa is a melancholic reflection on time and its effects on us. The opening lines describe the act of leading a dream towards the horizon, where its imprint is left behind. These words suggest the idea of chasing after something that is just beyond our reach, something that we may not ever be able to fully grasp or achieve. The second line "You bore my imprint there" may refer to the idea that the dream was there for a while but is gone now, as if it left an impression that eventually fades away. The line "Carried my feet to the clear lake" symbolizes the journey to a clearer reflection of oneself, the discovery of something pure, potentially even spiritual.
The following lines express that under those broken glass shards, there might be some unfulfilled dreams or memories. Despite that, they have the power to save us when we are lost, as if somehow reflecting on those broken parts of ourselves can give us a renewed sense of direction. The song then shifts to a scene where an old man is playing the violin, and although he was crying about his past, he was reliving a moment that he cherished. This could also represent the way that music can help us process grief or, alternatively, can be a means of holding onto something or someone that is lost.
The final line "Where hope had lured by the thousand/ You gently lay me down" brings the song back to the idea of chasing something beyond our reach, that hope is what drives us forward but that it can also be painful. The metaphor of broken glass is a poignant one as it implies that no matter how carefully we move forward, there are always going to be unseen obstacles that may cause us pain.
Line by Line Meaning
You led my dream to the horizon,
You were the one who took me towards my dreams, towards the horizon.
You bore my imprint there;
You left a mark on my mind and soul that I can never forget.
Carried my feet to the clear lake
You took me to the clear lake for some peace and solitude.
For glass lay everywhere.
But little did we know that there was broken glass everywhere.
Under broken shards
Underneath the broken glass,
Were dreams that never lived,
There were the dreams that could never come to fruition,
But they saved lives so many times
Although shattered, those dreams helped save many lives,
When we were cast adrift -
during the times when we were lost and alone.
From a bus you saw an old man
One day from a bus, you saw an old man,
Crying about his past,
who was crying as he was lost in his past.
But he was playing on his violin
But, he was trying to express his feelings playing his violin.
A memory made to last.
He wanted to record this unforgettable memory forever.
Are we destined to find
Will we ever be able to overcome our fate's restrictions to find
Darkness deep and vast?
our way out of the darkness that feels too deep and too vast?
Regrets so scattered through our minds
Our minds are filled with so many regrets,
Shine like broken glass -
which seem to shine like the broken glass, reminding us of the painful past.
Where hope had lured by the thousand
Where our hopes had led us in abundance,
You gently lay me down...
you always came to my aid to give me comfort and solace whenever I fell.
Contributed by Lucy L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@fernandoaguilar7539
wow, this voice is so different compared to the other albums, not saying it's bad but I prefer the old style.
@RafaelandProfanum
Really touching ! My child - your voice is soo sweet :) Not bad as for humans.
@batmanjoquer3534
Por muestras de tal belleza es que agradezco existir aquí y ahora...
@Maghjovf
Exacto
@ignacicorisant8794
sutileza!
@carablee1815
Sublime
@VNVgirl
i enjoyed this very much _ make more <3
@elizabethgeorginadelatorre4923
Recuerdo cuando los vi en el Circo Volador
@Harund7
oh yeah! is my favorite song of the world!! congralations Stoa!!
@toumathermlayeh808
You gently lay me down!