The title Timedelusions can be read as either Time Delusions or Timed Elusions, both of which suggest what is at work in the piece. When pronounced, the name sounds like Timed Illusions, which is just as appropriate. The listener is often deluded as to what is the beat and what is the syncopation, and just when it seems obvious, the beat is as likely to elude one's grasp as it is to remain unclouded.
The piece was written at the First International Composers Workshop in Viktorsberg, Austria, and exists in versions for both organ and orchestra. This orchestral version was commissioned by the Austrian government for Guntram Simma and the Dornbirn Jugendsinfonieorchester.
Harmonically, one of the original inspirations was a peculiar set of organ stops, which emphasized the major third harmonic. Melodically, the piece often leaps minor thirds, and the conflict between the harmonic and melodic dimensions is a motivating factor for much of the piece.
After a short tune exposing all of the above, a steady pulse appears and a tune floats above it, seemingly in a different tempo. Harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic momentum lead to a loud, harmonically rich chorale (which in the organ version is achieved by only two notes whose interactions create difference tones in the air). Fragments of the chorale periodically appear as temporary respites from the headlong motion of the piece until it reappears in its entirety, along with a version of the opening tune.