These two brief and lyrical pieces were first published in 1923 but it is probable that they were written before 1914. Several works in this style, such as The Lark Ascending and Hugh the Drover, composed in the years just before the First World War, were held over by Vaughan Williams until he was demobilised from the Army. The Two Pieces are dedicated to 'D.M.L.' (the initials of Dorothy Longman (nee Fletcher)), wife of the publisher Robert Longman and an accomplished violinist. She was introduced to her future husband in about 1912 by Vaughan Williams when she played in outdoor performances of plays based on folk-songs at the composer's family home, Leith Hill Place. These pieces may be memories of those occasions. They have not been available for many years, and their reissue in the present new edition will be warmly welcomed.