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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111110 Nov 10th [1911]
VWL374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111106 Nov.6.11
VWL340 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111012 Oct 12th [1911]
VWL336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 191110-- [early October 1911]
VWL4941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110815 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110810 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19110807 7 August, 1911
VWL4937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110713 13 Jul. [1911]
VWL373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19110708 [8th July 1911]
VWL335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 191107-- [July 1911]
VWL372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19110617 [17th June 1911]
VWL369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110429 Apr. 29/11
VWL368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19110425 April 25th [1911]
VWL334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191104-- [April 1911]
VWL125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110311 [About 11th March 1911]
VWL5179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Percy Allen 19110310 [10 March 1911]
VWL333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191101-- [Early 1911]
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]

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