page_title: Cyfarthfa Band
section_title: Under Ralph Livsey
hierarchical_section_title: Cyfarthfa Band / History / Under Ralph Livsey
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of George Livsey, bandmaster of Cyfarthfa Band
context_page_description: The Cyfarthfa Band was a private brass band created in the mid-19th century by Robert Thompson Crawshay, the future owner of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
  The band was established around 1840 by Robert Thompson Crawshay, the son of Cyfarthfa Ironworks owner William Crawshay II. It was funded and organised by Crawshay, who sourced instruments from Vienna and recruited players from around the United Kingdom. Ralph Livsey joined as bandmaster in 1848, and was succeeded by his son George when he died in 1863.
  During this time, the band played various shows at the Crawshay's Cyfarthfa Castle estate and around Merthyr, from weddings to flower shows. They entered Enderby Jackson's 1860 contest at The Crystal Palace and won the second day's event. The band continued until the early 20th century, when it was taken over by the council as the Cyfarthfa and Merthyr Municipal Band.
context_section_description: In 1848, Ralph Livsey joined the band as its bandmaster: he had previously been the solo keyed bugle player for the band that accompanied Wombwell's Travelling Circus and Menagerie. His thirteen-year-old son George Livsey joined the band at the same time as a keyed bugle player, later playing the cornet. During this period, the band immersed itself in the music of the European mainland, playing pieces by Louis-Antoine Jullien, Gioachino Rossini, and Giacomo Meyerbeer among others.
  A photograph taken in the 1850s shows a band of twenty-one players: three keyed bugles, four cornets, two tenor horns, four trombones, one euphonium, one ophicleide, two valved basses, two unidentified brass instruments, a side drum, and a bass drum. During this time, the sole ophicleidist was Mr. Coleman, who later emigrated to America. In 1858, the Staffordshire ophicleidist Samuel Hughes joined the band, described by Crawshay in a letter as being "famous" and a "great addition" to the band. It is assumed that Hughes was paid by Crawshay to play, due to the focus on getting him to join the band. Hughes was succeeded by John Walker, a Yorkshireman who had played in travelling shows, but by 1860 he was playing euphonium.
  In 1860, the band took part in Enderby Jackson's contest at The Crystal Palace, believed to be its first competitive pursuit. The band played in both the National and Sydenham contest, coming third in the former. After playing the required set of quadrilles composed by Jackson, and an arrangement of the overture to Verdi's opera Nabucco, the band won the latter contest. Crawshay was elevated as a cultural figure, however he had little knowledge of music and was effectively deaf from 1859.
caption: George Livsey, bandmaster from 1863
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