page_title: Cyfarthfa Band
section_title: Under George Livsey
hierarchical_section_title: Cyfarthfa Band / History / Under George Livsey
caption_attribution_description: English: 1871 Crawshay Wedding by Robert Thompson Crawsahy at his castle Wedding photograph on steps of Cyfarthfa Castle, April 29th 1871 Marriage of Henrietta Louise Crawshay to Captain 'Cookie' Ralston
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 June 1863, Ralph Livsey died and was immediately succeeded as bandmaster by his son George Livsey. He began working with German-educated French musician  George D'Artney to prepare scores for the band, and housed him within Cyfarthfa Castle. Despite D'Artney's apparent drinking problem, they successfully compiled a repertoire of handwritten, eclectic music, featuring transcriptions of symphonies by the greatest European composers. This maintained its connection to the European-style of band which his father and Crawshay had created. D'Artney later moved to San Francisco, and a leaving concert was dedicated to him in December 1874.
  Alongside the rare contest, the band played at various family and public events. In 1871, the band played at the wedding of Henrietta Louise Crawshay to Captain W. C. Ralston at Cyfarthfa Castle. The band often played in the wagon shed of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks, which had been converted into a ballroom when the Crawshays sought to entertain. They also occasionally performed at flower and agricultural shows, including the 1872 Merthyr Flower Show, where they played a series of marches and classical pieces, and multiple shows of the Glamorganshire Horticultural Society. In 1888, the Cyfarthfa band replaced the Band of the Grenadier Guards at the Trades Exhibition in Cardiff; regulations had been put into place that prohibited bands from playing outside of their local region. 
  The band appeared to maintain its roster of roughly twenty players in its later years: a photo from the late 1890s shows twenty-four players: five cornets with piston valves, three trombones, and thirteen instruments with four rotary valves each. A photo taken of the band in 1905 shows a band of twenty players: four cornets with piston valves, three trombones, eleven rotary-valved instruments and two flugelhorns. This is believed to be the last known picture of George Livsey leading the band.
  In 1902, with the Cyfarthfa Ironworks being taken over by Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, the band was no longer supported by its industrial namesake. It was, however, permitted to keep the music, instruments and uniform, and make use of the band-room.
  The band ceased to exist just before World War I, and the instruments were taken over by the council as the Cyfarthfa and Merthyr Municipal Band. Under that name, it was conducted by J. J. Harvey. He had previously served as bandmaster for the 7th Queen's Own Hussars.
caption: The wedding of Henrietta Louise Crawshay in 1871, where the band played music.[1]:3
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