THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

13 Cheyne Walk
SW3

[mid-December 1927]

Dear Grace
I thought your Psalms¹ were beautiful on Friday. I admit that your fear of a conventional climax leads to a slight want of point about them which is perhaps a hitch.
I thought the orchestra played fairly well but poor Carys Davis² was so nervous you c^d not tell what note she was on. So I don’t know what a stranger w^d make of them – I saw you looking terribly nervous – I’ve been through it myself – one had to go through it if one is a composer & cultivate a tough skin. Mean while have a good holiday & enjoy yourself & think of nothing but parties & pretty clothes for a bit – you’ve been working v. hard.
W^d you like to go to enclosed – I send the tickets in case
Your affectionate teacher
Ralph Vaughan Williams

1. Two Psalms for contralto, harp and strings (1927). The performance, reported in The Times newspaper, was at the Royal College of Music, conducted by Malcolm Sargent, on Friday 9 December 1927.
2. The mezzo-soprano Carys Davies