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
VWL1718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19421023 Oct 23 [1942]
VWL2239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19510520 [20 May 1951]
VWL4566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Menges 19420913 Sept 13 [1942]
VWL2715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19530909 September 9th 1953
VWL2929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 1953---- [1953 or later]
VWL3219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL3591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571016 [16 October, 1957]
VWL3617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 192806-- [June 1928]
VWL3395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL1731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 1947---- [?1947]
VWL2093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19460901 Sept 1 [1946]
VWL2429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520606 June 6 [1952]
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 19301209 December 9 [1930]
VWL892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 193010-- [?October 1930]
VWL3337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3358 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560723 July 23rd 1956.
VWL2332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL2973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19500809 9th August, 1950.
VWL2095 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19460915 [Mid September 1946]
VWL2263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19510706 6th July, 1951.
VWL3499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 195608-- [August 1956]
VWL2499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19521015 Oct 15 [1952]
VWL2669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL2708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530802 August 2nd 1953.
VWL2982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490406 6th April, 1949.
VWL2134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19461018 Oct 18 [1946?]

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