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.
Captivity
sToa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the hern screams along the distant lake,
Her little heart oft flutters to be free,
Oft sighs to turn the unrelenting key.
In vain the nurse that rusted relic wears,
Nor moved by gold - nor to be moved by tears;
And terraced walls their black reflection throw
(Samuel Rogers)
The lyrics of sToa's song "Captivity" are derived from Samuel Rogers' poem "Human Life: Canto III." The song's opening line "Caged in old woods, whose reverend echoes wake" sets the scene for a melancholic tale about a captive individual who yearns to escape. The captive is described as having a heart that flutters, and she sighs to turn the unrelenting key; this could imply that the person is perhaps trapped in a loveless or oppressive environment. The mention of a nurse wearing a rusted relic, who cannot be moved by tears or gold, suggests that the person is under the care of an unfeeling or cruel individual, with little hope for freedom.
The second half of the verse depicts the person's surroundings, with terraced walls reflecting in the moat below. The use of the word "black" to describe the reflection suggests a somber and oppressive atmosphere that further reinforces the feeling of captivity. One could interpret the use of the phrase "green-mantled moat" as a symbol of the natural world, highlighting the contrast between the stagnant captivity of the person and the vitality of nature.
Overall, the lyrics of "Captivity" present a powerful and emotive portrait of a person trapped in a loveless or oppressive environment, where freedom seems unattainable. The haunting melody and the somber lyrics combine to create a powerful and evocative piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Caged in old woods,whose reverend echoes wake
Trapped in ancient woods where sounds echo and resonate
When the hern screams along the distant lake,
When the heron's cry echoes across the far-off lake,
Her little heart oft flutters to be free,
Her small heart frequently beats with the desire to be free,
Oft sighs to turn the unrelenting key.
Often she longs to escape from the key's unyielding grip.
In vain the nurse that rusted relic wears,
The old nurse's attempts are futile, as she wears outmoded clothing
Nor moved by gold - nor to be moved by tears;
She can't be bought with money nor moved by the girl's tears
And terraced walls their black reflection throw
The walls throw back a dark reflection
On the green-mantled moat that sleeps below.
Onto the green-covered moat that slumbers below.
Contributed by Claire R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rob Ortiz
La verdad siento que Stoa tendría mas que ver con imágenes de cementerios europeos como el Cimiterio Monumentale de Milán o el Perre Lachaise de París... pero es interesante ver un video de ésta canción con imágenes de la Ciudad de México.
ame oscula
Te amo stoa!!! Claudin.
Neueregel
nice