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
VWL555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to To Iris Lemare 193703-- [?March 1937]
VWL1244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19371003 Sunday [3rd October 1937]
VWL1431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19400825 [25th August 1940]
VWL1511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390115 [15th January 1939]
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19331215 [15 December 1933]
VWL1174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370414 [14 April 1937]
VWL1139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370131 January 31 [1937]
VWL1213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370919 [19th September 1937]
VWL1442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19401004 Oct 4th [1940]
VWL888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19301228 [28th December 1930]
VWL1993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19500511 11th May 1950
VWL2048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19460803 Aug 3 [1946]
VWL1340 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19341129 Nov 29 [?1934]
VWL1479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19401223 Dec 23 [?1940]
VWL1127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19331215 [15th December 1933]
VWL186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350117 Jan 17th [1935]
VWL1652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 1928---- Undated [?1928]
VWL1954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19441227 Dec 27 [1944]
VWL1015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19321003 [3rd October 1932]
VWL1101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19331016 [16th October 1933]
VWL1510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390115 [15th January 1939]
VWL4427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19501002 2nd October 1950.
VWL622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19271009 [9th October 1927]
VWL718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350506 [6th June 1935]
VWL725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL3090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19550521 May 21st 1955.
VWL2577 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19260906 6 Sep 1926

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