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
VWL1898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19450728 July 28 [1945]
VWL1938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19441013 Oct 13 [1944]
VWL776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19350910 Tuesday [10th September 1935]
VWL1989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19340912 [12 September 1934]
VWL3326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580308 March 8th 1958.
VWL3438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19361018 [18 October 1936]
VWL2971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19490317 [17 March 1949]
VWL2449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19141009 [9th October 1914]
VWL1961 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19480911 Septr 11 [1948]
VWL806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19351018 [18 October 1935]
VWL1601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19411213 Sat: [13th December 1941]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL2470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520917 17th Septr. 1952.
VWL5270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Walford Davies 19221130 [late November 1922?]
VWL4562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Watkins Shaw 19540601 June 1st 1954
VWL2504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Howells 19521017 October 17th 1952.
VWL3455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Howells 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL4559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 1946---- [early 1946]
VWL5243 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19430910 10 Sep [1943]
VWL5255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19481014 14 October, 1948.
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL5211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [between 1921 and 1929]
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310715 [15 July 1931]
VWL5247 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19470711 July 11 1947

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