THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP)

Letter No. VWL3104

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP)

Letter No.: VWL3104


From R. Vaughan Williams,
10, Hanover Terrace,
Regents Park,
London, N.W.1.

July 24th 1955.

Dear Frank,

Now for your second letter (ACF:119 F).  I think you will agree with me that the answer to the Cincinatti1 people who want to do bits of Pilgrim’s Progress, probably in concert form, & without orchestra, is NO.  Let us wait for a real slap-up performance in America, which I think is still not beyond the bounds of possibility. 
Now there is something more:  I daresay you have seen that Evelyn Sharp has died?  Would it be a good plan to try to buy the complete rights of the text of Poisoned Kiss from her Executors? 2 Such rights to include adding, omitting and altering as we want?  I met a man at Cheltenham last week who is toying with the idea of doing it at the Grammar School there: unfortunately I never got his name, but I told him to write to you.3
Yrs

RVW


1. sic.
2. Evelyn Sharp, librettist of The Poisoned Kiss.
3. This performance did indeed take place, at Cheltenham School conducted by John Neve.