THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking.

June 21st 1952.

Dear Frank

The Elegy went very well in the evening.  Thank you very much for putting the extra corrections in.  I think that what is said in the actual text is enough, namely that the speaker must start exactly where indicated each time, but after that is free.  Surely it is obvious that he must time his speaking so as to coincide as far as possible with the length of the accompanying musical passage.
Of course to get it really right requires a lot of rehearsal. But this is true of other things as well.  Ursula timed the performance and made it 23 minutes, so we had better call it 25 App.
Yours sincerely,

R. Vaughan Williams.