THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Harvard Un:
Div: of Music.
Cambridge, Mass.

26.9.35

Gustav Holst Memorial Fund

Dear Mrs Western,

I am afraid I have been very remiss about my share in the work of raising funds for the Holst Memorial.  In the correspondence which I had with Mrs V.W. I somehow got the impression that the campaign for funds was to be carried on rather quietly & the appeal would be made to individuals & institutions who were known to have a particular tie with Holst, & on that basis I communicated with every institution or person in this country who had had any connection so far as I know with Holst.  Personally, I do not believe that a general campaign of publicity will yield anything in funds, but I am unwilling to let the chance go by default, provided you feel that through the papers or through publishers’ circulars, or through some other medium, we should attempt to interest the general musical public & the profession in this matter.  I am certainly willing to undertake the work connected with it & I will gladly do so, & I am sure I can organize an impressive American committee, if it seems wise to you to do so, but I dont want to take any of these steps without the authority the English committee.  If you will indicate to me how far you think I ought to go, I will see that the matter is attended to immediately.  I am, as you know, deeply interested in this project & that I have not been more active has been due simply to the fact that I hesitated to make a matter of this kind which is so near to many of us, a matter of general publicity, which in this country easily lapses into advertising & newspaper comment of a not v. grateful kind.  However, I think all that can be guarded against, provided you are willing for us here to go ahead on a larger basis.  If you will let me know as soon as possible, I will act.
Sincerely yours,

Archibald J. Davison