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.

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Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4830 Letter (extract) from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193203-- [shortly after 16 March, 1932]
VWL4703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 Dec 13 [1931]
VWL4702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 December 13 [1931]
VWL4701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19271001 [late September/early October 1927]
VWL4699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270926 September 26 1927
VWL4697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270729 July 29 [1927]
VWL1586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19411112 Nov 12 [1941]
VWL1140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19370131 January 31 [1937].
VWL969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311106 Nov 6 1931
VWL945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19360522 Friday [22nd May 1936]
VWL856 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300413 Sunday [April 13 (I think) 1930]
VWL853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300408 April 8 [1930]
VWL842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300202 Feb 2 or thereabouts 1930
VWL839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300119 Sunday Jan. 19: 1930
VWL835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300103 Jan 3/1930
VWL831 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19351224 Dec 24 [1935]
VWL815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192708-- [August 1927]
VWL795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192707-- [July 1927]
VWL711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19291217 Dec 17 [1929]
VWL660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290223 Feb 23 [1929]
VWL658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290201 [About 1st February 1929]
VWL657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290127 27th January 1929
VWL634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19280912 [12th September 1928]
VWL621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 [23rd September 1927]
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270818 [18th August 1927]

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