Constantijn Huygens

Sir Constantijn Huygens (September 4, 1596, The Hague - March 28, 1687, The Hague), KBE was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens. Constantijn Huygens was born as the second son of Christiaan Huygens (senior), secretary of the Council of State, and Susanna Hoefnagel, niece of the Antwerp painter Joris Hoefnagel. Constantij... more

Sir Constantijn Huygens (September 4, 1596, The Hague - March 28, 1687, The Hague), KBE was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens. Constantijn Huygens was born as the second son of Christiaan Huygens (senior), secretary of the Council of State, and Susanna Hoefnagel, niece of the Antwerp painter Joris Hoefnagel. Constantijn was a gifted child in his youth. They were educated partly by their father and partly by carefully instructed governors. When he was five years old, Constantijn and his brother Maurits received their first music education. They started with singing lessons, and they learned their notes using gold colored buttons on their jackets. It is striking, that Christiaan senior imparted the 'modern' system of 7 note names to the boys, instead of the traditional, but much more complicated hexachord system. Two years later the first lessons on the viol... less