THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

[Earlier part of] 1935

Dear Vally

As regards your list – if you want those that are interesting historiccally¹ (from a point of view of his development) they might all be included – but from the purely musical point of view I sh^d leave out, Youths Choice, Phantastes, 2 short songs, Clear & Cool.²
You do not put The Mystic Trumpet on your list – one of his finest early works.³
I do not know
Lansdowne Castle
4tet of Folk Songs
Winter Idyll⁴

Yrs

RVW

1.  sic.
2.  Vally Lasker was perhaps sorting out Holst’s manuscripts, which were kept immediately after his death at St Paul’s Girls’ School, and drawing up a list of works for possible publication: The Youth’s Choice: A Musical Idyll in one act, op.11/H60, was written in 1902; Phantastes: Suite in F  for orchestra, H108, as written in 1911; ‘2 short songs’ perhaps refers to [Three] short part-songs, H13, written in 1896; Clear and cool: The song of the river, H30, for chorus and orchestra was written in 1897.
3.  The mystic trumpeter, op.18/H71, for soprano and orchestra was written in 1904.
4.  Lansdowne Castle or the sorcerer of Tewkesbury, H App.I 21, an operetta in two acts, was written in 1892; Phantasy quartet on British folk songs, H 135; A winter idyll, H31, for orchestra was written in 1897.