Lutoslawski wrote this, the only choral work of his mature style, because he found much contemporary choral writing to be unsatisfactory, particularly serial and post-serial music. The complexity of the chords and the awkwardness of the intervals these works required the choir members to sing, he thought, resulted in a "doubtful" sound. He decided to use French poetry because he saw problems in translating into a widely-sung language any Polish text he might use. He had the musical structure in mind and after years of looking found these three poems of Henri Michaux (1899-1984). Therefore, each individual voice part is very natural for its singer, even though sometimes calling for speaking, whispering, and shouting. In addition there are aleatoric passages (where the parts are not bound to each other in time). The combination of these sounds, however, is strikingly unusual and avant garde.

The work is scored for twenty solo voices and an ensemble of ten woodwind, six brass, harp, two pianos, and four percussionist with a large number of instruments. The work is so aleatoric that it has two scores (one for the voices, one for the instruments) which are only loosely coordinated; either group has its own conductor. Twelve-note chords are the rule; what is sung and played seems to emerge from the general texture. The opening song, "Pensées," is delicate. "Le grand combat" is violent and has no actual singing from the chorus. "Repos dans le malheur" is rigorously organized harmonically, with chords mysteriously merging with each other and emerging from prior chords. The work is very abstract, but an underlying meaning is emotionally grasped. It is considered a masterpiece of avant garde choral writing of its time. Lutoslawski has, however, expressed disappointment that he did not achieve more clarity in projecting the words and their meanings. The composition was completed on April 17, 1963 and first performed at the Zagreb Music Biennale on May 9, 1963, and attracted immediate international acclaim.



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