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
VWL1771 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1949---- Sunday [about 1949]
VWL3148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19490914 14th September, 1949.
VWL124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1909---- [1909]
VWL339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 191311-- [late November 1913]
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913
VWL1818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19431101 Nov 1 [probably 1943]
VWL2098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19460918 Sept 18/46
VWL2114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501025 25th October, 1950.
VWL2280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19511015 Oct 15 1951
VWL3430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19561005 October 5th 1956
VWL2733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19531014 October 14th 1953.
VWL2801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480919 Sunday [19th September 1948]
VWL2878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19541020 [About 20th October 1954]
VWL2083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL2130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19461013 Oct 13 [1946]
VWL2168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19470420 April 20 [1947]
VWL1920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19440617 June 17 [?1944]
VWL3577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL2327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19471014 Oct 14th [1947]
VWL2615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530215 15th February 1953.
VWL3135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491013 Thursday [Oct 13/49.]
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL3000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19490511 11th May, 1949.
VWL2694 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530620 June 20th 1953.

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