THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking, Surrey.

13th May, 1953

Dear Dr. Young,

Many thanks for the book, which has interested me very much, but of course is embarrassingly flattering.¹
I do not pretend to understand the more philosophical part of it, but then the technical terms of modern philosophy are Greek to me.
(Please, teacher, what does “semantic” mean and what is a “secondary seventh”?)
I daresay you and your friends have already pointed out one or two errors and misprints, but in case not and for future reference may I send you a small list:
Page 14: “St. Germans”, not “Germain”.
   ”    14: According to the Oxford Dictionary of Place Names Ampney does not mean a river but comes from the name Amma. Apparently my Father’s predecessor in the Vicarage    who was an amateur antiquarian tried to derive Ampney, which he spelt Amney from Amnis the Latin for River, but I think this is quite fallacious.
   ”    15: The account of the restoration of Down Ampney Church is not quite correct. My father died in 1875 when I was not three years old and we left the district at once, though I have often been down there since. Therefore the restoration had no effect on me. As a matter of fact those dreadful vulgarities (rood screen &c.) which are entirely out of keeping with the style of the church were put in, I think, about 1890 or so by the millionaire who lived in the Manor House. It was scandalous of the authorities ever to allow it.
Page 18: “St. Barnabas” not “St. Anne”.²
Page 22: I have never heard of “Song Time” or “Children Praising”.³
Page 24: I took Mus. Doc. at Cambridge under the old regulations. I think I was the last to do so.⁴ 
Page 33: I conducted “Norfolk Rhapsodies” Numbers 2 and 3 at the Cardiff Festival myself. They have since been scrapped.⁵
Page 39: The performance of my “Wenlock Edge” in Paris was later than the performance at the Aeolian Hall by Elwes.⁶
Page 62: The quotation is “Comfort me with Apples” not “with flagons”.⁷
Page 80: I am sorry you put in that dreadful photograph of the Sadlers Wells production of “The Shepherds”.
Page 114: Three “comforters” not “messengers”.
Page 118: The organ is not added to the full orchestra. The organ and timpani are solo and the full orchestra is only to be used when the organ is absent or inadequate (see full score).⁸
Page 132: The reference to the two piano version of my Concerto is not quite clear. There is a solo version which is published with the orchestra part arranged for second piano. There is also an arrangement for two piano solos with orchestra, and if this is done with piano accompaniment three pianos would be necessary.⁹
Page 169 – second quotation:  The first two notes of the trumpet passage should be “d” not “g”.¹⁰
Thank you again for a most interesting book.
Yours sincerely

R. Vaughan Williams
 
Dr Percy Young,
72, Clark Road,
Wolverhampton,
Staffs.

1. Percy M. Young, Vaughan Williams, Dobson, London  1953.
2. The church where VW was organist 1896-1898.
3. Young quotes these two titles as bearing witness to a disinclination, on VW’s part, to consider anything humane as insignificant.
4. Young says that VW took his degree under the new regulations of 1893 which called for skill in original composition.
5. Young does in fact say they were conducted by the composer, but a paragraph later refers to F.H. Cowen as the conductor of the Festival.
6. Young, referring to the Aeolian Hall performance, says that the work had previously gained a succès d’estime in Paris.
7.  There is clearly a misprint in Young’s quotation which reads “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love”
8. Young: ‘[Satan’s] kingship is monstrously proclaimed first by the tam-tam and then by full orchestra, to which is added full organ, including solo reeds’.
9. Young: ‘There is a version of this work also for two pianos (2nd piano for orchestra) for the attention of those who have found their way to the Introduction and Fugue.’
10. The musical example referred to is the trumpet part 5 bars after fig.4  in the first movement of the Sixth Symphony.