THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

January 4 [1948]

Dear Joyce

We did not forget to listen to the ‘Nocturne’¹ and I know that R means to write – for at the end he said ‘beautiful’.
We could just hear those deep notes that are like the first steps in a dark wood – & later might Hardy have called it ‘a young man’s aspirations’?… These stray words are only to tell you we w^d have been very unhappy to have missed listening.
On New Years day Cordelia & Bernard² were with us & we enjoyed the subtle flavour of your Medlar Jelly. Ursula³ has introduced me to peppermint. It is quite worth turning to on a cold evening – and is splendid for Ursula who drinks far too much strong tea & coffee.
We stewed the dried bananas as you advised – quite nice but uninteresting – but then I never have been a passionate lover of the fruit.
I haven’t heard the recordings of No 6 yet⁴ – for they came on 14 inch discs & no gramophone here will take them. The BBC are going to transfer them to 12 inch w^h is very kind.
All wishes for 1948

AMVW

1.  New Year Music, op.7.
2.  Bernard Brown, husband of Honorine Williamson, who had died in 1940.
3.  Ursula Wood.
4.  i.e. of the run-throughof the Symphony no. 6 by the BBC. The first performance took place on 21 April 1948 and first commercial recording (again by Boult) was in February 1949.