Documento on Monday 16 November (19.00-20.00 CET) presents part 1 of a two-part series about the musical life of Constantijn Huygens, the 17th century Dutch ‘uomo universalis'.
In June, Documento broadcast two programmes about Samuel Pepys, a man from the higher echelons of society in 17th century London, who kept a diary of all his experiences including his musical activities. This diary provides us with a unique insight into the life of those times.
There was also a similar ‘uomo universalis’ in the Netherlands: Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687), a contemporary of Pepys. Huygens was similar to Pepys in many ways, he was also well educated and musically active but, as far as we know, they never met even though they moved in the same circles.
Huygens may be well-known as a musician but that does not mean that it is no longer of interest to listen to his music. In this programme we present songs from Huygens himself as well as songs from his contemporary Carolus Hacquart and anonymous songs based on texts from Brederode.
Part 1 can be heard in Documento on Monday 16 November, part 2 follows on Monday 23 November.
