THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking,
Surrey.

27th November, 1952.

Dear Frank,¹

Certainly I shall be delighted to let “Music and Musicians” print the programme notes.²  I originally wrote them about the Bradford Subscription Concerts, but I reserved my property in them, so I suppose I have the right to do as I like.
I am also sending a copy, if you do not object, to Mr. Russell of Manchester (who is doing the programme for Hallé),³ also one other Society in Manchester who want notes. I suppose that is all right?
The rehearsal went very well in Manchester, but I fear there are a good many revisions necessary which will rather horrify you. Roy Douglas has them in hand and will tell you all about them.

Now, with regard to your other letter.  I am so sorry I neglected to mention these negotiations about “Bridal Day” to you.  I somehow thought you knew all about it, which was stupid of me.
I think, as we have promised Television to have the first look in we must stick to that, and Cheltenham can, if they want to, alter their date.
I need hardly say I shall be delighted if you will, as usual, control the whole thing.  The people chiefly concerned are Hubert Foss, Kenneth Wright and Stanford Robinson, but what the function of each is I have not been able to make out.  At one point I have got to make some revisions and additions, but I am waiting for further instructions as to what these are to be before doing anything about it.⁴
Yrs

RWV
(R. Vaughan Williams).

Alan Frank, Esq.

1. Music Editor in succession to Norman Peterkin (1947); Head of Music from 1954 until his retirement in 1975.
2. For Sinfonia Antartica (Catalogue of Works 1952/2).
3. On ‘Mr Russell’ see VWL3316.
4. Frank had written on 26 November saying that the Bath Festival wanted to mount a performance of Bridal Day on 25 May, but that this was before the proposed television performance and that he was worried that television would be disappointed if their production was not the first performance.  He also asked if VW wanted Oxford University Press to handle the arrangements.