THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking, SURREY.

14th June, 1950

Dear Moody,¹
Thank you very much for your kind invitation. I am so sorry that I cannot be present but I wish you every good luck.²
As regards my Anthem, the only point I should like to make is that when the “St. Anne” tune comes back, towards the end on full organ and orchestra, it must be a real fortissimo. The other day I heard a performance in which the organ reduced everything to pianissimo at that moment.
I hope you have not had to convert your organ into a “Baroque” organ for Susi Jeans.³ Her own organ to my mind sounds like a barrel organ in a street. I fear there is a movement among the younger organists, prompted by influence from abroad, to do away with our wonderful Cathedral organ tone and substitute the “bubble and squeak” type of organ favoured on the Continent. You must fight hard to prevent this, since I know that there will be influence in high places to introduce the other kind of organ wherever possible.
Yours sincerely,
R Vaughan Williams

(R. Vaughan Williams).

1. Charles Moody was the organist at Ripon Cathedral.
2. The organ in Ripon Cathedral had just been rebuilt and was opened on Thursday 15 June. Susi Jeans gave the opening recital on that occasion, the first in a series. At some point in the ensuing few days a four choirs festival was held in the cathedral (Durham, Newcastle, Ripon and York), with anthems by Gibbons, Stanford and VW, conducted by Moody.

3. Lady Susi Jeans, an advocate of historically informed performance of Baroque music.