Mysticae Visiones - December 2001.

A concept album based on a musical representation of a series of metaphysical concepts. It includes the following pieces:

                1.    Mysticae Visiones (35:48)

                        I      Prologue

                        II     Birth and Childhood ..... The discovery

                        III    Youth ..... The dream

                        IV    Manhood ..... The construction

                        V     Reflection

                        VI    Death

                        VII   Transition

                        VIII  Meditation

                        IX    First Heaven ..... Punishment

                        X     Second Heaven ..... Reward

                        XI    Third Heaven ..... The beckoning

                        XII   Epilogue

                2.    The River (14:55)

For a structural analysis of  Mysticae Visiones, click here.

The River was inspired on the following fragment of the novel Siddharta - by Hermann Hesse.

A few extracts from reviews on Mysticae Visiones:

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... "stylistically" speaking, such a polymorphous music that is presented on this album masterpiece is, of course, nothing else but Fifth Element. Or, maybe, you'd prefer to define it with a bulky phrase that I used above to describe its stylistic constituents? "A blend of Classical Academic Music and Classic Symphonic Art-Rock with the elements of Prog-Metal and Avant-garde Academic Music."

Vitaly Menshikov - ProgressoR. Full review

".... this second album has a more mature sound than its predecessor. It is still a keyboard-driven album, with great influences from XX Century composers like Debussy at the piano..... The influences go from Clearlight to Seventies Italian prog and jazzy moments. It includes several different rhythm changes according to the part it represents: death, birth, childhood, meditation, etc. There are also some Genesis-like passages enhanced by Hackett-like guitar solos and keyboards that remind of their classical sound....To conclude, I think you should give Kotebel a try. If you liked the first record, then you'll like this second one, if you don't know its music, then it is a great opportunity to discover a great Spanish exponent of the progressive rock scene. You'll see why I placed "Mysticae Visiones" among my favorite 10 albums of 2001…"

Enrique Gomez Montiel - progVisions. Full review

"......Mysticae Visiones is a spectacular CD, very symphonic, majestic and even spiritual. The album consists of two pieces. The first is the 35:48 "Mysticae Visiones" suite with 12 individually named movements, then "The River", clocking in at 14:55. The album is mostly instrumental, but Carolina Prieto provides some ethereal female "ah-ah" vocals. "Mysticae Visiones" has some very classically-styled passages, in fact Debussy's more pastoral moments are frequently in evidence, particularly in the piano and strings. But there are also many traditional progressive elements as well, such as Thijs van Leer-styled flutes and Steve Hackettish guitar solos....I found this to be one of the best CD's I've heard so far this year (it was released so late in 2001 that it's almost a 2002 album), and I think this is an essential CD for anyone enjoying symphonic prog or romantic classical music."

Fred Trafton – Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock. Full review

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Fragments in MP3 format:

                    Youth ..... The Dream (419 Kb)

                    Manhood ..... The Construction (541 Kb)

                    Reflection (453 Kb)

                    Transition (512 Kb)

                    Meditation (479 Kb)

                    First Heaven (471 Kb)

                    Second Heaven (515 Kb)

                    Third Heaven (538 Kb)

                    The River - fragment A (498 Kb)

                    The River - fragment B (495 Kb)

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Mysticae Visiones has been released through the Musea label. If you would like additional information on this album or the Kotebel project, just send an e-mail to contact@kotebel.com