Sieben Stufen is based on the poem Verfall (Decline, Decay) by Georg Trakl (1887–1914). All sounds originate from electronic manipulations of two recordings of the poem, spoken by four different voices—two in German and two in French. Additionally, four key German words (Verfall, Abend, Glocken, Vögel) are sung on seven pitches, along with their corresponding French translations (ruine, au soir, cloches, oiseaux) in seven different pitches.

The piece is structured in seven sections, simultaneously representing both an approach to and a distortion of the text. The durations of these sections follow the proportional sequence 12-10-2-6-4-8-1. Only in the seventh part does the text fully emerge, creating a counterpoint between the French and German versions.

A retro-coda follows, compressing the entire piece in reversal into 49 seconds. This final contraction is superimposed with the 56 sung words (four in both languages on seven pitches). Additional compressions occur at the beginning of each section, condensing the upcoming material into two-second accents. Throughout all seven sections, the poem functions as a sound atom, continuously shaping the musical structure.