Jane Elizabeth Kempton (née Twitchell; October 4, 1835 – March 13, 1921) was an American

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

solo singer who had an active career spanning over fifty years starting in 1850. She sang in hundreds of performances across the United States and Europe during her long career.

Early life and career

Jane Elizabeth Twitchell, nicknamed "Jenny", was born in

Dublin, New Hampshire Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,532 at the 2020 census. It is home to Dublin School and ''Yankee'' magazine. History In 1749, the Masonian proprietors granted the town as "Monadnock No. ...

, in 1835,"A Successful Career Closed". ''The Golden West'', vol. 2 no. 20, April 1, 1921. p. 7. the oldest of three children born to Reuben Wilder Twitchell (1810–1895) and Hanna Prentice Wight (1815–1842). Her father was a cabinetmaker and musician who volunteered for service in the regimental band of the First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

from 1861 to 1862, and again from 1863 to 1865 as a musician in the

2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry The 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Major George H. Gordon (later Brigadier General), a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican-American War, organized ...

of the XII Corps then the regimental bandleader of the XX Corps of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. Reuben Wilder Twitchell was the bandleader for

General William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

and his March to the Sea in 1864. Jenny's brother, John Wight Twitchell (1842–1864), and her father-in-law, Ezra A. Kempton Jr. (1808–1864), died within one week of each other in Andersonville Prison in August 1864, mere miles from her father and

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

. Jenny Twitchell Kempton came to notice at a very young age as her untrained

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

extended from a low C to high C without strain. She came to Boston from

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

, for a voice education at the age of 14 and soon thereafter sang contralto performances for the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. Her first notice came from her lead in the first performance in the United States"Famous Singer of Olden Days was San Francisco Discovery". ''The San Francisco Chronicle'', March 20, 1921, p. 4. of the

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s '' St. Paul'' and '' Elijah'' in Boston in early 1850 with the Handel and Haydn Society. In the 1850s she performed solos in and around Boston, including performances with the Sacred Music Society of Portland, Maine. Kempton sang often in the First Parish Church in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

and entertained in the houses of church members including

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ri ...

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

, Francis H. Underwood,

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

, and

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

. In particular, she became lifelong friends with Longfellow.Personal letters of Jenny Twitchell Kempton. By 1855, she was described as "the favorite contralto of Boston". By 1857, Kempton moved to New York to study under the contralto Elena D'Angri and would perform many concerts. She then engaged for a multi-year contract with Father Kemp's Old Folks Concerts Company from approximately 1858 to 1861, performing lead solo performances in at least 100 concerts, including performances for President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

and future-President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

while touring the East Coast and Midwestern United States from 1859 to 1860. The positive reviews and accolades given Kempton during her performances with the Old Folks Concerts caused such jealousy and trouble among the other performers that the very successful traveling company dissolved for a time, with Robert 'Father' Kemp siding with Kempton against the other performers.

Later life and career

On May 1, 1860, she married James Monroe Kempton (1833–1898) in New York; the couple had two children. She performed in 41 concerts in New York between October 1862 and July 1864, performing many times in those years and becoming lifelong friends with the Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño. During this time, she began being called "The Favorite American Contralto". In 1864, Kempton signed a contract with the Richings-Bernard Opera Company and traveled by steamship to San Francisco to sing many solo performances at Maquire's Academy of Music from 1864 to 1865. During this time, she acquired the nickname "San Francisco's Little Adopted", she was elected an honorary member of the San Francisco Fire Department in 1864, and her voice and success were compared to the famous

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

. Following her commercial success in San Francisco, Kempton returned to New York for a brief time and then embarked on a two-year stay in Europe from 1865 to 1867 to train under

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and to perform in many European capitals. Her European debut came at the Carcano Theater in Milan in a performance of '' Il giuramento''. She eventually performed for King

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

and Margherita of Savoy in Florence, Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

and

Empress Eugenie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

in Paris, and

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in London, with whom she was considered to have a striking resemblance. Under the personal direction of Rossini, she was the first American to perform his ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

'' in Paris in 1865.Passed Away
, ''Musical America'', March 19, 1921, p. 51. She returned to the United States to continue performing concerts in and around Boston and New York from 1867 to 1877, including performances in 1873 at the

World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Fr ...

in Boston, engagements with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and a sixty night engagement with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. In 1878, Kempton moved to Chicago to give voice lessons and continue to perform and by the 1880s she was primarily a voice teacher of operatic singing. She moved to San Francisco by 1899, and then to Los Angeles in 1905, continuing to give voice lessons until her death in 1921. She was a significant supporter of the

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

movement to secure the right to vote for women, performing benefit concerts from the 1890s until as late as 1910. She was a founding member of the Dominant Music Club of Los Angeles and was given the title "Mother of Music in Southern California"."Popular Singer of Early Days Dies". ''The Oakland Tribune'', March 14, 1921, p. 7. She died, aged 85, on March 13, 1921, and was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempton, Jenny Twitchell 1835 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American women opera singers American operatic contraltos Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery People from Dublin, New Hampshire Singers from New Hampshire Voice teachers Women music educators