The Vaughan Williams Collection
Surrey Performing Arts Library (PAL), Dorking, Surrey
Although born in Gloucester Ralph Vaughan Williams had strong connections with the Dorking area for most of his life. He was the first conductor of the Leith Hill Festival - a post he held from 1905 until 1953. His family home, Leith Hill Place, is a few miles south from the library. The road on which his Dorking home, 'White Gates' stood and where he lived with his first wife, Adeline, is but a short distance away. Among the major pieces he composed in Dorking were:
Five Tudor Portraits (1936)
Donna Nobis Pacem (1936)
Serenade to Music (1938)
Job (1930)
Symphonies 4–7
The Magnificat
String Quartet No 2 (1944)
Pilgrim's Progress (1951)
Five Variants on 'Dives and Lazarus'
The library is located on the scenic Denbies Vineyards Estate and is well worth a visit. There is free parking, a cafeteria and a shop.
Click here to visit their web site.
Denbies is on the A24, close to the M25 and A3 from London.
Trains to and from London throughout the day (15 minutes walk from Dorking station.)
The history of the collection
Because of his local associations, Surrey libraries had accrued much material connected with the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Leith Hill musical festival.
In the late 1970s a start was made to establish a Ralph Vaughan Williams collection of published books, scores and recordings. Since then, the collection has grown with the acquisition of most subsequently published books on the composer, reprints of his own writings, new publications and editions of his scores and some of the now vast quantity of his music issued on compact disc. Additionally, local publications, programmes, cuttings, pictures and other materials have been added to the collection.
Since the move of the library to Denbies in 2000, it has been enhanced by a permanent display on Ralph Vaughan Williams' life and works. It is intended to add audio facilities to this display in the future.
Bibliography
(uploaded November 2012)
We are grateful to Allan Atlas who has provided us with the attached bibliography. The bibliography is organised into nine sections, one of which is itself subdivided into eleven sub-sections:
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B.
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E.
F.
G.
H.
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Publications of Music
Collections of Writings on Music
Bibliographies/Discographies
Collections of Correspondence
Iconography
Biography/Life-and-Works Surveys
Collections of Essays
Analysis/Criticism of Individual Works and Genres |
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b.
c.
d.
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f.
g.
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i.
j.
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Folk Song
Hymnody
Opera/Other Stage Works
Choral Music
Songs
Symphoniesz
Concertos
Other Orchestral Music
Band Music
Film Music
Chamber Music and Music for Solo Piano
Contextual/Sociological Studies |
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Download pdf of Bibliography |
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Within each section (whether main or "sub") the entries are organised in chronological order beginning in 1996, with multiple entries for a single year arranged alphabetically by author's surname. Each entry is followed by a brief annotation that describes the contents of the item and, where applicable, by a list of reviews. If an item seemed to fit equally well in more than one section, it appears in each of the relevant sections with the necessary cross-references.
If you have any queries or require a Word document please contact me in the first instance at
rvwinformation@hotmail.com
Vaughan Williams 'Places'
Graham Muncy has put together a leaflet illustrating
some of the locations with which VW is associated;
an "in his footsteps" snapshot.
Click here to download as a pdf.
The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Journal
An acclaimed, illustrated journal, edited by William Hedley is published three times a year (February, June and October), for discussion of the life and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams with reviews of new recordings, concerts and articles by leading experts.
See our Journals page
Vaughan Williams Photographs
The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society does not keep an archive of photographs and is unable to grant permission for use.
The following organisations may be able to help.
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery keeps a small collection of portraits and is sometimes able to advise on the whereabout of photographs.
Click here to visit the web site
The British Library
The composer's wife, Ursula Vaughan Williams bequeathed her personal collection of photographs to The British Library. This collection is still being catalogued.
Click here to visit the web site
Commercial Photolibraries
A few commercial libraries keep a limited number of Vaughan Williams photographs. These are usually available at commercial rates but do try and negotiate especially when for non-commercial use.
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Discography
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society member, Jonathan Pearson has produced a discography. This is a work in progress, a labour of love and the culmination of many years work. Jonathan invites interested parties to add to it or comment. It is free to use. The only thing that we ask is that should you use it, please credit Jonathan and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society and to please let us know by sending an e-mail to: rvwinformation@hotmail.com
The Discography is available in two formats. Click below for preferred format.
Grants
The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust
The Trust's primary object is to promote knowledge about Ralph Vaughan Williams and performance of his works and similarly of the works of his widow, Ursula Vaughan Williams. It does this by making grants in support of eligible projects.
Click here to visit the web site
The RVW Trust
The RVW Trust is one of the most significant sources in the UK of funding for contemporary and recent British music. The Trust was established by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1956 and it continues to fulfill the purposes he intended. The trust is not able to make grants towards the performance or promotion of the works of the Founder.
Click here to visit the web site
Links
Albion Music
Dedicated to publishing books on English music and poetry.
Click to visit.
Oxford University Press
Catalogue of music and printed music. See also:
Vaughan Williams on Music. Excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. We have reason to be grateful for their special emphasis on RVW.
Click to visit.
Albion Records
Devoted to recordings of rare Vaughan Williams.
Click to visit.
The English Music Festival
A celebration of Britain's rich musical heritage showcasing the brilliance, innovation and beauty of English music.
Click to visit:
http://www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk/
The British Library
Vaughan Williams' wife Ursula, donated most of the composer's manuscripts to the British Museum. If you want to study the originals, then this is the place!
Click to visit.
Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst was Vaughan Williams' closest and life long friend. They met when they were both students at the Royal College of Music and remained such until Holst's untimely death in 1934.
Click to visit.
Vaughan Williams speaks!
This BBC page has a profile of RVW plus an audio file of him speaking on a world service programme in 1956 on the 'glory of the English Hymn'.
Click to visit.
Naxos
The RVW Society is proud to be working closely with Naxos, particularly on world premiere recordings of rare Vaughan Williams' music. '
Willow Wood' has been a notable success and we are hoping that future projects will enjoy similar acclaim.
Click to visit.
Songs text archive
The Lied, Art Song and Choral Texts Archive
Click to visit.
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski was a great advocate of RVW's music. They were both students at the Royal College of Music although Stokowski was ten years younger and entered the RCM as RVW was about to leave. According to Stokowski, Vaughan Williams was influential as a teacher (probably more as an older student – RVW did not take up teaching at the college until 1920). "I found him to be a remarkable man – very profound, very warm".
Click to visit.
George Butterworth
Butterworth was a close friend of Vaughan Williams and encouraged him to write
A London Symphony.
Click to visit.
Gerald Finzi
Although of different generations, Finzi and Vaughan Williams were good friends until the younger man's death from Hodgkinsons in 1951.
Click to visit.
Ivor Gurney
Gurney was regarded as one of the most promising men of his generation, both in music and poetry. However, in 1922 the Bipolar disorder that had plagued him from early adulthood prompted his family to have him declared insane. Throughout Gurney's years of confinement as well as getting his works published or performed, Vaughan Williams used to visit and send him books and maps which he loved.
Click to visit.
The Bach Choir
Vaughan Williams was one of a succession of outstanding Musical Directors.
Click to visit.
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
In honour of the eminent composer, song collector and President of the English Folk and Dance Society.
Click to visit.
Hodie
A personal view from 'Flying Inkpot', this time Vaughan Williams Christmas oratorio,
Hodie, conducted by Wilcocks.
Click to visit.
The 49th Parallel
Vaughan Williams was 69 when he wrote the music for the film,
The 49th Parallel. Society member Rolf Jordan wrote the article.
Click to visit.
Sir Roger Norrington
This is the fan club page of the great conductor and interpreter of historic music as well as of course, Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Click to visit.
The Arthur Bliss Society
Sir Arthur Bliss (1891–1975) was one of the most important figures in British musical life from the early 1920s (when he was regarded as an enfant terrible) through to his later life when he was a revolutionary Master of the Queen's Music.
Click to visit.
Frederick Delius
(1862–1934). Born in England, lived & worked in Florida, Germany, Norway & France.
Click to visit.
Documents on line
If you are curious to see on-line documents from the National Archives such as Vaughan Willams' Acceptance for admission to Officer Cadet School, his next of kin form, medical card, an extract from certificate of recommendation for admission to an Officer Unit, then visit this site.
Click to visit.
The British Music Society
The British Music Society was founded in 1979 by enthusiasts who believed an organisation was needed to stem the indifferent attitude generally displayed towards the music of many British composers.
Click to visit.
Lyrita
Lyrita Recorded Edition is one of the UK's longest-established
and highest regarded independent Classical record labels. Lyrita
has an unparalleled reputation for recording specifically British
repertoire at the highest audio standards.
Click to visit.
Vaughan Williams Sound Archives
The British Library Ethnographic wax cylinders and others
The English Folk Dance and Song Society collection, held at the British Library on their behalf, is divided into three parts: the Lucy Broadwood collection of Scottish recordings; the Welsh Collection; and the Cecil Sharp and Vaughan Williams collection of English folk songs.
The Library is continually changing its URL, so the best place to start is by clicking on the following link. This takes you to the
Sound and Moving Image Archive Catalogue, where you can use their search engine.
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