THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

15.XI.20

I hope to be free on Nov 26th but am not quite sure yet¹
In that case it will give me great pleasure to come – but in any case please find a pianist
R Vaughan Williams

1. The event was a chamber concert at the Royal College of Music, in ‘Commemoration of the share taken by Collegians in the War’, organised by the RCM Union, in which event all composers represented, performers and stewards served during the First World War. The concert included the first performance of five of the songs from Ivor Gurney’s cycle ‘The Western Playland’, sung by Topliss Green: ‘Is my team ploughing’, ‘Golden Friends’, ‘Twice a Week’, ‘Loveliest of Trees’ and ‘March’. The programme was prefaced with part of Gurney’s poem, ‘Spring, Rouen, 1917’. Presumably Marion Scott, a close friend of Ivor Gurney, had asked VW if he might play the piano.