THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

November 10th 1955.

My dear Roy,

Here is the second movement¹ returned with all your corrections noted. I think I have marked the metronome rather too quick, I think [crotchet] = 108 would be more right.
It would be angelic of you to come to Manchester, but as you are apparently going to be an angel at home as well you will be an angel either way.  No date is fixed for the run-through yet.  I imagine that John² is waiting till he hears the score and parts are ready.
Now there are two things that worry me: ought we to vet the vibraphone part in the first movement before we put it into the score?  Would it be a good plan to have the vibraph. part copied out and get a vbrphnst to play it through?  I imagine its a bit experimental.
Secondly, I went to Turandot³ yesterday and they used a set of tuned gongs, chromatic scale, which sounded superb, much better than tubular bells.  Of course they could not do a glissando.  Do you think it would be worth while to put them into the score as an alternative to the tubular bells? – keeping those for the glissando.
Yrs RVW

1. Of the Symphony no. 8 in D minor.
2. John Barbirolli.
3. Puccini’s Turandot.