Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon
The White Gates,
Dorking.
Dear Gordon
You put your finger on the chief difficulty of my second Interlude (the scene with Fenton, Anne & chorus) the other day when you pointed out that that scene would require a full stage and would thus make practical difficulties coming immediately before the Falstaff – Quickly scene – And you have probably already anticipated the idea which came to me this morning that this Interlude should be the 1st scene of Act II – the 2nd scene would then be the Letter scene and the rest of the act follows as printed.
Am I right in supposing that you would then be able to have a full stage for the Fenton – Anne Scene, followed by a front scene for the Letter Scene during which the stage could be set for the interior of the ‘Garter’[?] This would have the additional advantage of letting the interview of Quickly & Falstaff follow immediately on the Letter Scene as it really should do.
You have probably thought of all this already and I only write to say that I quite approve. It would of course involve writing some new music to take the curtain up on this new beginning of Act II – but this I think could easily be done if you wanted it.1
Yrs
R Vaughan Williams
1. This letter appears to concern amendments to Sir John in Love (Prologue, Episode and Interlude, Catalogue of Works 1928/3a) of which the Prologue had been first written for a performance at Bristol in 1933 while the Episode and Interlude appear to have been written for a possible performance at Sadlers Wells in the 1934-35 season which did not materialise. All three were published by Oxford University Press in 1936. The year must be 1933 since VW refers to the matter in a letter to OUP received by them on 4th January 1934. See VWL1122.
Subjects:
Musical works:
Location of original letter:
Location of copy:
In the hand of AVW signed by VW.