"[1] In its standard chamber version Tehillim is scored for four women's voices (one high soprano, two lyric sopranos and one alto), piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, six percussion (playing 4 small tuned tambourines without jingles, clapping, maracas, marimba, vibraphone and crotales), two electronic organs, two violins, viola, cello and bass.
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').
"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'.
[4] 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.