Vaughan Williams, Ralph.

1) His working copy of "Four Hymns...for Tenor Voice with accompaniment of Pianoforte & Viola obbligato", [the printed piano score and viola part], 32 and 8 pages, London: Boosey, 1920, first edition, revised by the composer, and inscribed on the titles ("Arrangement for Str 4tet & Piano"), the viola part with about 6 pages of autograph manuscript, laid down over the printed music, written by the composer in black ink on whole pages and strips of paper, with cues and annotations in blue crayon, violet ink and pencil; the piano part with many heavy deletions and annotations in black pencil



2) three autograph playing parts for the two violins and cello, each signed on the title ("R Vaughan Williams/ 4 Hymns/ Violino 1 [...etc.]"), written in black ink on up to thirteen staves per page, some passages notated with the voice part on two-stave systems, some music added on strips of manuscript paper laid down, with deletions, revisions and alterations, marked up with cues and annotations in blue crayon, violet ink and pencil, [London, 1925], 3 volumes, each 7 pages, including titles, 12-stave paper ("R.C.I."), marked-up for performance



5 volumes in all, folio (c.31 x 25cms), including 22 pages of autograph music, [1925], grey publisher's wrappers, title label to cover of piano part ("[with accompaniment of] string 4tet & pianoforte"), composer's name stamp to piano part, wrappers detached
 

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This arrangement of "Four Hymns" is unpublished. It is for the same forces as Vaughan Williams's famous song-cycle On Wenlock Edge (1908). The four hymns of the work are "Lord! Come Away!" (Jeremy Taylor), "Who is this Fair One?" (Isaac Watts), "Come Love Come Lord" (Richard Crawshaw) and "Evening Hymn" (Robert Bridges).

They were composed for piano, viola and tenor in 1914 and published in 1920, although proofs were prepared in 1915. The present version was played at the Aeolian Hall on 27 March 1925 by the Snow Quartet, but remains unpublished.

The description of the Four Hymns in The New Grove (xxvi, 358) is somewhat misleading.  The work is listed under "Vocal Orchestral" for tenor, viola and strings.  An orchestral arrangement for string orchestra was performed in the Aeolian Hall in 1920, for which playing parts were apparently issued for hire by Boosey & Hawkes, but we have traced no published edition. Indeed, the only edition we have found is the present version, a chamber piece with "Pianoforte & Viola obbligato".