THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

Jan 2nd 1945

Dear Mr Muller Hartman

I do not know whether you would care to undertake a task which is chiefly copying – but involves a certain amount of scholarship. It is no less than to copy out the voice parts of Bach’s Mass in B minor in the most correct edition available.
I have been preparing a version of the mass adapted to the English liturgy. – so in addition to this all you would have to decipher my rough notes! – though this is not really so formidable since you would get the notes from the printed copy & as to the words you could check my hieroglyphics from a printed prayer book.
There is no hurry about the work as there is no chance of it being printed till after the war. I could lend you a B.G.¹ and a Novello copy corrected.
Would you care to undertake it? I suggest as a preliminary a fee of £50-0.0 – which could be adjusted later.
Yours sincerely
R. Vaughan Williams

1.  i.e. the Bach Gesellschaft edition. Müller-Hartmann agreed to undertake the work; see VWL1869. VW conducted the B minor Mass in this new translation at the Leith Hill Festival, Friday 18 April 1947.