# Kennerley Rumford > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kennerley_Rumford > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kennerley_Rumford.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennerley_Rumford > Source revision: 1267773529 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) English singer (1870–1957) Kennerley Rumford Kennerley Rumford, c. 1905. Background information Born Robert Henry Kennerley Rumford (1870-09-02)2 September 1870 Hampstead, London, England Died 9 March 1957(1957-03-09) (aged 86) North Stoke, Oxfordshire, England Occupation Singer Years active 1896–1957 Spouses Clara Butt ​ ​ (m. 1900; died 1936)​ Dorothy Jane Elwin ​ (m. 1941)​ Children 3 Musical artist **Robert Henry Kennerley Rumford** (2 September 1870 – 9 March 1957) was an [English](/source/United_Kingdom) [baritone](/source/Baritone) singer of the 20th century. He was first known for his performances of [oratorios](/source/Oratorio), but following his marriage to the well-known [contralto](/source/Contralto) singer [Clara Butt](/source/Clara_Butt), he toured with her throughout the English-speaking world singing repertoire of a more popular type. He was twice mentioned in dispatches while serving on the Western Front during the [First World War](/source/World_War_I). ## Early and personal life Kennerley Rumford was born in [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead), [London](/source/London), [England](/source/England) in 1870[1] the son of Joseph Kennerley Rumford who was related to [Count Rumford](/source/Benjamin_Thompson) the celebrated scientist.[2] He was educated at King's School [Canterbury](/source/Canterbury) and also in [Frankfurt](/source/Frankfurt) and [Paris](/source/Paris).[2] He studied singing in Paris under [Giovanni Sbriglia](/source/Giovanni_Sbriglia) (in 1894) and [Jacques Bouhy](/source/Jacques_Bouhy), and in London under [George Henschel](/source/George_Henschel).[2][3][4] He also studied under Blume, Lierhammer and [Jean de Reszke](/source/Jean_de_Reszke).[3] On 26 June 1900 he married the contralto singer [Clara Butt](/source/Clara_Butt) – they had one daughter and two sons before Clara died in 1936.[1][2][5] In 1941 he married Dorothy Jane Elwin.[5] ## Career Rumford made his first appearance in 1896 at [St James's Hall](/source/St_James's_Hall) in London.[2] He went on to sing at the [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham_Triennial_Music_Festival) and [Handel](/source/Handel) festivals and at nearly all the principal London and provincial concerts and festivals.[2] He made his reputation with works of a serious kind such as [Bach](/source/Bach)'s [St. Matthew Passion](/source/St._Matthew_Passion) (Bach Festival at [Queen's Hall](/source/Queen's_Hall) 6 April 1897) and [Brahms](/source/Brahms)'s [Ernste Gesänge](/source/Vier_ernste_Ges%C3%A4nge) (St. James's Hall Popular Concert 31 January 1898).[4] He appeared before both [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) and King [Edward VII](/source/Edward_VII).[2] After his marriage to Clara Butt he performed with her in concerts of a more popular kind – they performed "Grand Concerts" at the [Royal Albert Hall](/source/Royal_Albert_Hall) in London and in tours all over the English-speaking world.[4] During the First World War (1914–1917) Rumford served in France where he was twice mentioned in dispatches; later (from 1917) he worked in the Special Intelligence Department of the War Office.[4][5] ## Recordings Rumford's earliest recording dates from 1899, when he recorded "Night Hymn at Sea" ([Goring Thomas](/source/Arthur_Goring_Thomas)) with Clara Butt on a 7-inch Berliner disc.[6] Between 1909 and the mid-1920s he made a number of recordings for [His Master's Voice](/source/His_Master's_Voice_(British_record_label)) and (from 1915) the Columbia Graphophone Company, some solo but many with Clara, for example "The Yeomen of England" from [Merrie England](/source/Merrie_England_(opera)) ([Edward German](/source/Edward_German)) in 1909 (solo), "[Abide with Me](/source/Abide_with_Me)" (Liddle) in 1909 (with Clara) and "O That We Two were Maying" in 1925 (with Clara).[6] ## Death He died in [North Stoke, Oxfordshire](/source/North_Stoke%2C_Oxfordshire), England on 9 March 1957 aged 86.[1] He is buried in St Mary churchyard, North Stoke, Oxfordshire. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BREG_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BREG_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-BREG_1-2) [British General Register Office](http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120415013820/http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/) 15 April 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) – Birth certificate: 1870 Vol 1A page 577. Marriage certificate: 1900 Vol. 6A page 1A. Death certificate: 1957 Vol 6B page 881. Payment required. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-WHO13_2-6) *Who's who in Music*, Saxe Wyndham, Boston, 1913, p. 180 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-DENT_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-DENT_3-1) *A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians*, J.M.Dent and Sons Ltd, London 1924, p. 427 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-GROVE_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-GROVE_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-GROVE_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-GROVE_4-3) *Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians*, Third Edition, Macmillan and Co., London, 1928, Vol. IV, p. 487 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-WHOWASWHO_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-WHOWASWHO_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-WHOWASWHO_5-2) *Who Was Who*, Vol. V, Adam & Charles Black, London, Fourth Edition, 1984, p. 954. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7136-2598-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7136-2598-8) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CHARM_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CHARM_6-1) [The AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music](http://www.charm.rhul.ac.uk/index.html). Retrieved 30 April 2013 ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Kennerley Rumford](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kennerley_Rumford). - [Kennerley Rumford](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20141) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat National United States Italy Belgium Artists MusicBrainz Discography of American Historical Recordings People Trove Other Te Papa (New Zealand) Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kennerley Rumford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennerley_Rumford) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennerley_Rumford?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.