It was premiered in Stockholm on September 23, 1983, by the Swedish Radio Choir, under the baton of Eric Ericson, to whom it was dedicated.
The composition consists of three movements and a typical performance takes approximately 11 minutes.
The movement list is as follows:[2] The piece is a polyphonic four-part work for 16 voices (that is, four each of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses).
Its compositional style is strongly influenced by Ligeti's word-painting techniques from the 60s.
[3] Ligeti commented on this work: "My three fantasies are emotional, 'onomatopoetic', overwrought, 16-voiced pieces (not micropolyphonic!)".