THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates, Dorking.

September 12th 1953.

Dear Roy,

Have you any criticisms or suggestions about Hodie? before I start revising it? Gerald & David¹ have two, which they both made quite independantly² of one another.
A. That the third verse of the Three Kings, the one about myrrh, is not good enough.
B. That the chord F Natural, A, C sharp, E flat, is weak, conventional and out of the picture. You may remember that it comes very often in the Gloria in Excelsis. I should be very grateful if you will also give me your reactions to these points, as well as any other criticisms. You know that, like Gustav Holst, I ask everybody’s advice and take no ones.
Yrs

RVW

1. Gerald Finzi and David Willcocks.
2. sic.