THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

March 16th 1958

Dearest Michael & Eslyn,

How angelic of you to remember my birthday, & to send the perfect book for me to take to Ischia.  Thank you, thank you.
I had a lovely birthday party on Thursday with Bill Brown singing Gerald’s posthumous songs Till Earth Outwears.¹  With Howard² playing, then Jean playing ‘her Dittersdorf’,³ & then B Brown singing Ralph’s Blake songs with Janet Craxton playing⁴– then food & drink – about fifty of us, and everything fine.  Then on the real day, Ralph & I went to the Jardin des Gourmets for dinner.  Its where he took me to lunch the day we first met – twenty years ago!⁵
How lovely to see you on Friday.⁶  We don’t quite know how to live till then – trumpet & kettledrum to while away the time (or wile? Yeats is upstairs) but we’re going to try Round the world in 80 days⁷ & the Passion recording!⁸
All love.

Ursula.

1.  The cycle by Gerald Finzi published in 1956. Bill Brown was the tenor Wilfred Brown, who also taught Finzi’s sons.
2.  Howard Ferguson.
3.  Jean Pougnet had recorded a concerto in G major by Dittersdorf with the London Baroque String Ensemble (Parlophone 1004).
4.  Ten Blake Songs for voice and oboe (Catalogue of Works 1957/5).  Wilfred Brown and Janet Craxton were the dedicatees of this work.
5. The “real day” was Saturday 15 March, and the restaurant was at 5 Greek Street.
6.  i.e. at the rehearsal of the Ninth Symphony (Catalogue of Works 1957/4).
7.  The film of Jules Verne’s novel starring David Niven directed by Michael Anderson.
8.  See VWL3305.