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
VWL3192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580925 25th September 1958
VWL4561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walford Davies 19360329 March 29 [1936]
VWL1508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.H. Reed 1940---- [c 1940]
VWL4966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL4965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19360319 March 19 [1936]
VWL4560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney Waddington 1929---- [early 1929?]
VWL1424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rachel Fell 19400606 About June 6th [1940]
VWL668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Penelope Spencer 19290331 [About 31st March 1929]
VWL656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Penelope Spencer 19290121 [Third week of January 1929]
VWL4711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Thackeray 19400831 Aug 31 1940
VWL5252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL5246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19430706 July 6 1943
VWL5244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19360215 February 16 1936
VWL5242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19441226 Dec 26 [1944]
VWL5238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19471006 6 Oct 1947
VWL5253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19511225 Xmas Day [1951]
VWL5237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL5254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL5245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19410402 April 2 1941
VWL5240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19450625 June 25 [1945?]
VWL5239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19401206 Dec 6 [1940?]
VWL5249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19471113 13th November, 1947
VWL5248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19471017 Oct 17 1947
VWL5235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19480426 26 Apr [1948]
VWL5251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL5250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19480603 3rd June 1948
VWL5241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19400727 July 27 [1940s]
VWL5236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501016 Oct 16 [1950]
VWL2473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leopold Stokowski 19520924 24th September 1952
VWL550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19360710 [?10, July 1936]

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