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.

Searching:
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
VWL1495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wednesday [August 1940]
VWL1496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [1940]
VWL1497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194009-- [1940]
VWL1499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday morning 7.30 [After October 1940]
VWL1501 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday [Autumn 1940]
VWL1502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390403 [3 April 1939]
VWL1505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1940---- [1940]
VWL1506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1940---- [1940]
VWL1515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390207 Tuesday [7 February, 1939]
VWL1531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410408 [8 April 1941]
VWL1533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410504 Sunday [4th May 1941]
VWL1534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410508 8.5.41
VWL1540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410615 Sunday [15th June 1941]
VWL1544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410630 30.6.41
VWL1545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410701 July 1 [1940]
VWL1546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194107-- [July 1941]
VWL1549 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194109-- [After 4th September 1941]
VWL1552 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194111-- [Early November 1941]
VWL1554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390313 March 13 [?1939]
VWL1556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390322 [22 March, 1939]
VWL1558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390410 Monday [10th April 1939]
VWL1561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390416 [16th April, 1939]
VWL1564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390511 [11th May, 1939]
VWL1565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390513 [13th May, 1939]
VWL1573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390705 [5th July 1939]
VWL1582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411016 Thursday [16th October 1941]
VWL1593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390726 [26th July, 1939]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL1605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391012 [12th October 1939]
VWL1612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411225 Xmas Day [25th December ?1941]

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