ABSTRACT
The outline history of British brass bands is easy to plot. Brass bands provide the classic illustration of the relationship of music-making to the buoyant producer–consumer dynamic of the Victorian period. This chapter focuses on a case study of the Cyfarthfa Band, and on the extent to which understanding the context and culture of such a band is the key to understanding its musical behaviour. The formation of most brass bands was financed by public subscription or through a hire purchase agreement. The advent of the brass band contest was the most influential agency in the process of standardization. The Cyfarthfa Band provides an interesting and important example of how some highly developed bands did not fit into the most commonly encountered stereotype. Though the Cyfarthfa repertory is not complete, it is by far the largest and most comprehensive brass band music library to have survived.
