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
VWL1380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19400130 [30th January 1940]
VWL1696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19421001 Oct 1st [1942]
VWL1913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19440514 May 14 [1944]
VWL1733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19421104 Nov 4 [1942]
VWL2179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19510131 31st. January, 1951
VWL147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190611-- Wed [November 1906]
VWL388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19131103 [About 3 November 1913]
VWL490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19220202 2/2/22
VWL305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 1911---- [1911]
VWL335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 191107-- [July 1911]
VWL115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 1904---- [1904?]
VWL150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190705-- [After April, 1907]
VWL436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19171228 Dec 28th [1917]
VWL148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190611-- [November 1906]
VWL338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 191307-- [July 1913]
VWL1256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric and Margaret Thorpe Davie 19371229 [29th December 1937]
VWL786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 192404-- [April 1924]
VWL2156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470215 [mid February 1947]
VWL2163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470226 Feb 26 [1947]
VWL2273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19510919 19th Septr., 1951.
VWL2467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19520917 17th Septr. 1952
VWL2855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19481208 8th December, 1948.
VWL2883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541104 November 4th 1954
VWL2493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19521014 October 14th 1952
VWL3341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560614 June 14 1956
VWL3414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL4283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19220129 [29th January 1922]

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