THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy

Letter No. VWL3509

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy

Letter No.: VWL3509


From R. Vaughan Williams,
10, Hanover Terrace,
Regents Park,
London, N.W.1.

[15 May 1957]

The quotation at the end of my Elgar talk was the opening of the first symphony: where the melody is given to vi[o]las and rather heavy woodwind, the bass to cellos and double basses, also playing rather heavilly, while the inside harmony is given to two soft, muted horns.  By all the rules those horns ought to be inaudible, but they sound out all right, and that is the mystery and the miracle.