THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

[mid May 1939]

Dear Maud
I do not see how you can refuse this – It seems to me quite good though not exciting – except for the one or two chromatic places – which will not sound so bad on the voices as they do on the pfte – & if we refused everything which contained a few places we disliked there w^d not be much left!
You might however, if you wish, insist that the actual outline of the melody should not be altered on p.6 at X. I feel myself that we have no right to refuse permission to anything except what is quite inconsistent or a gross caricature of the original¹
Love from
Yrs
RVW

1. The context is not clear; presumably it relates to permission to use an arrangement of one of the folk songs collected and published by Karpeles.