THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

GRAND HOTEL
Place Stanislas
Nancy

[late November 1913]

Dear Mr Barter

I am terribly sorry to say that I shall not be able to come to hear your chorus perform my “Sea Symphony” after all – as I am obliged to be abroad at the time – I cannot tell you what a dissappointment¹  it is to me as I know from what I have heard what a fine performance it is likely to be – meanwhile I wish every success to you & your choir for your concert.²
Yrs sincerely

R. Vaughan Williams

1. sic.
2. The Bristol Philharmonic Society was to give their second performance of A Sea Symphony on (or about) 10th December 1913. VW was to spend much of December and January with Adeline, her mother and Emmeline and Hervey Fisher at Ospedaletti-Ligure and was presumably already on his way there. See VWL342 and VWL343. Batrer wrote a long letter to VW on January 1st 1914 describing the performance (now at British Library MS Mus. 1714/1/5)