THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

[1927]

Dear Maud

I don’t see how we could do the dances for band any how else – It w^d be intolerable to have only one instrumentation for all the 20 repetitions of a dance tune – so the obvious thing is to have two one fuller than the other – and surely to take the ‘p’ out of the light one & the ‘f’ out of the full one w^d only make it sound meaningless – there are as you say no p & f s in the p^fte part but the player naturally puts those in – the only alternative w^d  be to have a separate instrumentation for each figure of the dance – but this w^d make the music impossibly long & expensive (you know I’ve always wanted to try my hand at treating the dance tunes ‘symphonically’ following the various moods of the dance – but you rejected the idea with scorn).
After all its always possible for the conductor to direct the players to repeat the ‘p’ & ‘f’ strains as often as he wishes not necessarily always 2 & 2.
I think it safer to bring the percussion proofs on Sunday (9.10 Padd) & not entrust them to this letter which may never reach you.
Yrs

R Vaughan Williams