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
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 1951
VWL2261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510701 Sunday [?1 July 1951]
VWL2196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510221 21st February, 1951
VWL2208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510321 [21 March 1951]
VWL2210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510323 [23 March 1951]
VWL2254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510613 13th June, 1951.
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511227 27th December 1951
VWL2366 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520207 [7 February 1952] Thursday
VWL2370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520528 28th [?] May, 1952
VWL2426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520605 June 5 [1952]
VWL2443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520630 June 30th 1952.
VWL2502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19471217 Dec 17 [1947]
VWL2539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521116 November 16th. [1952]
VWL2744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531208 December 8th 1953.
VWL2745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL2758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540122 [January 22 1954]
VWL2832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL3220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL2050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500712 12th July, 1950.
VWL2062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511024 24th October, 1951
VWL3098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550620 June 20th 1955.
VWL3129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550810 [August 10 1955]
VWL3985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19580122 January 22nd 1958.

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