Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 1911---- [1911]
VWL304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 1911---- [1911]
VWL308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19101201 [January 1910]
VWL366 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 19101112 [12th November 1910]
VWL331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 191009-- [About September 1910]
VWL332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 191009-- [About September 1910]
VWL365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19100715 [About 15th July 1910]
VWL4925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191006-- [Summer, 1910]
VWL329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191006-- [?Middle of 1910]
VWL364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Reeves 19100512 [12 May 1910]
VWL363 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19100509 [9th May 1910]
VWL362 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100508 [About 8th May 1910]
VWL361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100501 [Before 6th May 1910]
VWL327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191004-- [April 1910]
VWL326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191004-- [April 1910]
VWL328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191004-- [April 1910]
VWL360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100307 [7th March 1910]
VWL324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191003-- [After 7th March 1910]
VWL323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191003-- [Towards end of March 1910]
VWL325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191001-- [?January 1910]

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival