THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates, Dorking,

24th March, 1949.

Dear Mr. Byard,

Thank you so much for your letter.  I wish I had seen you on Saturday, and we could have talked things over.  I have quoted your kind words in a letter I have written to my choir.

As regards the question of the end of No. 67.¹  I know that the B.G. edition² has the figured bass, but whenever I have heard the work it has been pure unison – even a performance in Amsterdam, so far as I can remember, which was supposed to be very correct and had all the horrors like harpsichord and other pedantries.  I suppose if the harmonies were put in at all they were put in on the organ.  I think one is quite justified, however, in leaving them out.  In the same way I always leave out the harmonies that have a pure bass in the accompaniment to “Eli, Eli” if possible on the organ only.

I should very much like a criticism of my realisation of the figured bass in the Evangelist part.

I remember the very interesting letter you wrote to the “Times” some time ago condemning what you call the “plops” in the ordinary pianoforte scores.  I cannot believe that is what Bach meant and I venture to think he meant something more like what I wrote out for Gritton to play.  Some people, however, strongly object to it and say it is not Bach, and other people go so far as to say that it is like a pianoforte concerto.

I should very much like to know what you think about this?

Yours sincerely
R Vaughan Williams
(R. Vaughan Williams).

H. Byard, Esq.

1.  i.e of the St Matthew Passion in the edition by Elgar and Atkins: “And when they came unto a place” (recit. for tenor and chorus).
2.  i.e. the complete edition of the works of J.S. Bach published by the Bach Gesellschaft 1851-1899.