ABOUT THE LETTERS
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s correspondence - with his friends, family, pupils and fellow musicians - paints an intriguing portrait of the man, as well as providing fascinating insights into his major preoccupations: musical, personal and political.
The VWF database includes transcripts of over 5,000 items of annotated correspondence, fully indexed and searchable, which can all be read online. It includes all the letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams known to the editors and is an ongoing project. Find out more about the database.
The text of letters written by Ralph Vaughan Williams remains in the copyright of the Vaughan Williams Foundation and may not be further reproduced without the prior written consent of the Foundation.
Featured Letter
from Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872-1958 to Wood, Ursula, 1911-2007
Letter No. VWL1533
Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood
Letter No.: VWL1533
From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.
Sunday [4th May 1941]
My Dear
Jean1 gave me the delightful book, which just suited me after conducting. I am so glad you are having a holiday with Michael.2 Let me have all your news & ring me up when you come back to London. Messiah3 went very well – but chorus No 2 was not quite so good – I had tea & lunch with the orchestra & got through a lot of embracing!
Yrs
RVW
1. Jean Stewart, dedicatee of the second string quartet.
2. Michael Wood, UW’s husband.
3. During the war the Leith Hill Musical Festival was reduced in scope to two performances of a choral work. In 1941 the Messiah was given twice, on Saturdays 26 April and 3 May 1941 in Dorking Parish Church. See And Choirs Singing: An account of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 1905-1985 (Leith Hill, 1985), p.25, though the date for Messiah – in conflict with the appendix of this published account (p.130) and the evidence of this letter – is given there as 1942.
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Shelfmark:MS Mus. 1714/1/13, f. 40
