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
VWL381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19120118 [18th January 1912]
VWL4942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120101 1 Feb 12
VWL4410 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Sat. [ca 1912]
VWL4413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- [1912?]
VWL4944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4411 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Monday [ca 1912]
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]
VWL371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19110608 June 8th [1911]
VWL370 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Margaret Vaughan Williams 19110519 May 19. 1911
VWL369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110429 Apr. 29/11
VWL305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 1911---- [1911]
VWL367 Letter from A.E. Housman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19101203 3 Dec. l910
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]
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]
VWL324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [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]
VWL325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191002-- [February 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