THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

April 27 [1937]

Dear Frank

I return the 3 German Songs herewith.¹  As regards No 3 “Der Morgenstern” I thought Walter Ford was going to supply the rest of the words and a translation.  I tried to start it myself but find that the German words in my copy do not scan.
Perhaps it would be better to scrap this one altogether.  In any case it should be transposed to G.
Yrs sincerely

R Vaughan Williams

1.  In a note of 11 March 1937 to Hubert Foss, Alan Frank, then music editor, makes it clear that the intention was to issue a set of three German folksongs arranged for voice and piano (‘Entlaubet ist der Wald’, ‘Wanderlied’ and ‘Der Morgenstern’) with English translations of the words by the dedicatee Walter Ford. However for the reasons apparent in this letter the eventual publication (Two Old German Songs. Arranged for Voice and Piano by R. Vaughan Williams, 1937) omitted the third song. The first song is Catalogue of Works 1902/5, while the second and unpublished third are mentioned within the entry.