THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking.

Oct 6 1951

Dear John,

I am sending you under separate cover scores of my Pastoral & No 4 – If you approve will you ask the librarian to put it¹ in the parts (Though of course you will not have time to think about it yet with all your “garden” work).²
In No 4 I have altered the last note of the slow movement from F to E♮ – I always felt the F was wrong – but c^d not make out what the right note was –
Score of No 5 will follow shortly
I am not sending the score of Sea Symphony – but I think that with my fairly full direction your librarian will be able to find his way.
The London Symphony is past mending – though indeed with all its faults I love it still – indeed it is my favourite of my family of 6.
Yrs

R. Vaughan Williams

1.  i.e. corrections in the full scores.
2.  Barbirolli was giving a complete cycle of VW’s (then) six symphonies over the ensuing season.  See VWL2274 and VWL2283.