Sava
Sava is a German folk band which was founded by Birgit Muggenthaler and Oliver “SaTyr” Pade in 2004 as a cooperation between the two folk musicians from Schandmaul and Faun. The idea of developing a folk project had been around for several months, when the first ideas were put to paper in the winter of 2004. Since the early days of Faun and Schandmaul in the late 90s, a close musical friendship had developed between Birgit Muggenthaler and Oliver Pade, so it was obvious to take Oliver as a specialist for the string instruments. The band was named after the demigod of Celtic mythology – “Sava” (she is one of the seven souls of the Big Dipper constellation).
The debut album Aire, which was released in 2004, contains mostly new folk songs with bagpipes, tin whistle, flute, harp, hurdy-gurdy, cittern, nyckelharpa, jaw harp, violin and other historical instruments. In addition to pure instrumental tracks there are the songs, which are provided with singing, nature–mythical moods and legends of different, often original, Celtic musical traditions. The album includes eleven extraordinary compositions, filled with motifs of mythologies of the most different countries of the world. Here there are Celtic mythology, Arabian motifs, and poetry of the peoples of the North, both dance melodies and ballads, songs with lyrics in different languages. There is no song similar to any other, they sound very differently.
The second album titled Metamorphosis was released in 2008, Oliver Pade largely withdrew from the composition for reasons of time, but remained an important partner of Birgit Muggenthaler. Since June 2008, Birgit has been working with several guests on a new Sava album to be released in November. The music, mostly composed of its own, combines folk and ethno elements, as well as elements reminiscent of old music. The old Norse, Gaelic, Spanish and French lyrics are arranged. Sava invites the listener to an imaginative journey through various countries and epochs. In 2012, the third album Labyrinth was released, in which Oliver Pade was no longer involved. Sava is characterized by comparatively strongly structured, mostly newly composed compositions by Muggenthaler with elements of old music, but primarily in folk traditions of the British Isles, France, Scandinavia and Spain. With four other musicians from the Regensburg region, Muggenthaler has been performing live since 2009. Birgit Muggenthaler is officially the only fixed band member, Oliver Pade is to be heard as a guest.