CULTURES OF BRASS PROJECT
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CULTURES OF BRASS PROJECT |
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The Cyfarthfa Project: The Instruments of the Cyfarthfa Museum
INTRODUCTION This catalogue results from the belief of the authors that the collection of musical instruments in the Cyfarthfa Castle Museum is of considerable importance, and is of especial significance to the history of the British brass band movement. A number of instruments from this collection was included in the exhibition Brass Roots: 150 Years of Brass Bands, organised by Bradford Museums and Art Galleries and the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, which was shown in Bradford, Edinburgh, Llangollen, Salford, London and Manchester in 1989-90. The presence in this collection of nearly twenty instruments1 associated with a single brass band2 (whose history can be traced back to c. 1838) is unique. The historical significance is all the greater on account of the survival of a set of the manuscript part books from the same band which represents a significant part of their nineteenth century repertory3. Apart from the instruments definitely or possibly associated with the Cyfarthfa Band, the other instruments described in this catalogue are of some interest. Particularly to be noted are the three trumpets, including a keyed trumpet with an inscription which has so far proved illegible but appears to be that of a London maker. The cornet pitched in Ab is also of great rarity. Many of the mouthpieces were acquired not long before this catalogue was made in order to enable the display of some of the brass instruments with a more complete appearance, though these are in fact of a later period. The original trumpet and ophicleide mouthpieces, however, are worthy of study. The cataloguing work was undertaken in the first half of 1987. The descriptions were stored on a computer data base using a number of information `fields'. Since then, one or two further items have come to light, including a six-keyed anonymous bassoon with crook and with a reed by Snelling. Some repair and restoration work has also been carried out.
1. Trevor Herbert and Arnold Myers, `Instruments of the Cyfarthfa Band'. Galpin Society Journal, 1988, XLI, pp. 2-10. 2. Trevor Herbert, `The Virtuosi of Merthyr'. Llafur: The Journal of Welsh Labour History, 1988, 5(1), pp. 60-S9. 3. Trevor Herbert, `The Repertory of a Victorian Provincial Brass Band'. Popular Music, 1990, 9(1), pp. 117-132.
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