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 Howes, Frank, 1891-1974
Letter No. VWL4466
Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes
Letter No.: VWL4466
From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White House,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.
Tuesday [1939?]
Dear Howes
I wonder if you had an EFDS1 ctee today. I arrived in London at 9.0 (leaving here at 7.20) to find that the Prom rehearsal and concert was off. So considering the difficulty of travel etc I cowardly went home. I should very much [like] to know what you decided.
I do hope some modus vivendi was achieved by which we can retain the services, in some capacity, of Helen2
Yours
R Vaughan Williams
1. English Folk Dance and Song Society committee; Howes edited the journal of the Society.
2. Probably Helen Karpeles, honorary secretary of the Society.
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General Notes:
Date estimated from context; the Promenade concerts were disrupted by the war in 1939, 1940 and 1941.
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Shelfmark:Deposit 2009/21, Box 1
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Shelfmark Copy:MS Mus. 1714/2/5, f. 130
