This composition is in eight movements and takes approximately 30 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows:
Premières fusées (First rockets)
L'eau (The water)
Les fusées (The rockets)
L'eau (The water)
Les fusées (The rockets)
L'eau (à son maximum de hauteur) (The water (at its maximum height))
Superposition de l'eau et des fusées (Superposition of the water and the rockets)
Feu d'artifice final (Firework finale)
The melodic theme used in the fourth movement was also used later in the fifth movement ("Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus") of Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps.