THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP)

Letter No. VWL2808

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP)

Letter No.: VWL2808


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

March 28th 1954.

Dear Mr. Warrack,

Herewith the proofs.1 There are still a few mistakes which I have noted on a slip fastened to the copy. Could you kindly check those yourself, as it will save a lot of time?
Yours sincerely,

R. Vaughan Williams

P.S. I am sorry for the delay in the orchestration of Sun, Moon and Stars,2 I did it all and showed it to Bernard Shore, who said it was all much too difficult, and I had to re-do it. He has now revised it all, and added slurs and bowing marks. Will you ask Alan Frank, in confidence, whether he thinks he ought to have a fee for this? If so, my name must not come into it, and it must be nominally from the firm, though of course I would refund, or have it taken off my royalties in the usual way.  By the way, the arrangement is for pianoforte and strings NOT strings without pianoforte. I am sending it under separate cover.

RVW


1. Of This Day (Hodie) (Catalogue of Works1954/3).
2. Sun, Moon, Stars and Man (Catalogue of Works 1950/3a) is a cycle of four songs based on sections of the cantata Sons of Light (Catalogue of Works 1950/3). In fact the first performance was accompanied by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and so the orchestration should not have presented any difficulty – but the work was intended for school use.