Tehillim was the first major composition by Reich to reference explicitly his new-found interest in his Jewish heritage, and his Judaism as such. However, although this is obviously central to the work, and although it would not be until 2004, with
You Are (Variations), that Reich would again set Jewish scriptures to music, the real difference lies in the formal aspects of
Tehillim. Typically, Reich's music is characterised by a steady
pulse and the repetition of a comparatively small amount of
melodic material emanating from a clear
tonal centre (a style of writing which is called '
minimalist'). Both aspects are certainly to be identified in
Tehillim (the composition in no way marks a complete aesthetic break for Reich), for example in the quick, unchanging
tempo of the first two parts, which are played one after another without a break, and the close four-part
canons of the first and fourth parts. However, these aspects together constitute only the broad outlines of the work; how they are presented is markedly different from his early work. These differences are a direct consequence of the need felt by the composer to, "set the text in accordance with its rhythm and meaning". There is no fixed
metre or metric pattern in
Tehillim. The rhythm of the music comes directly from the rhythm of the Hebrew text. Secondly, the musical setting of lengthy 3-4 line texts results in the composition of extended melodies at that point atypical for Reich. "Though an entire melody may be repeated either as the subject of a canon or variation, this is actually closer to what one finds throughout the history of Western music". As such, this second aspect of extended melody contributes to the appearance of structures not without precedent in Western musical history. "The use of extended melodies, imitative
counterpoint, functional
harmony and full
orchestration may well suggest renewed interest in Classical, or more accurately
Baroque, and earlier Western musical practice. The non-
vibrato, non-
operatic vocal production will also remind listeners a singing style derived from outside the tradition of 'Western art music'. However, the overall sound of
Tehillim, and in particular, the intricately interlocking percussion writing which, together with the text, marks this music as unique by introducing a basic musical element that one does not find in earlier Western musical practice including the music of this century.
Tehillim may thus be heard as traditional and new at the same time". None of the writing is informed by the sound or structure (in spite of the composer's recent study of
Hebrew cantillation) of Jewish music generally or any existing tradition for singing the Biblical text. Indeed, a major factor in Reich's choosing the Psalms was that, "the oral tradition for Psalm singing in the Western synagogues has been lost. This meant I was free to compose the melodies for
Tehillim without a living oral tradition to imitate or ignore." ==Sources==