1580 in music

Events

• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina loses his wife in an outbreak of plague.

Bands formed

• The Concerto delle donne is founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara.

Popular music

• First recorded appearance of the English ballad Greensleeves.

Publications

• Giammateo Asola – Second book of masses for four voices, also includes a Requiem mass for two choirs
• Lodovico Balbi – Masses for four and five voices
• Anthoine de Bertrand
• *First book of sonets chrestiens mis en musique for four voices
• *Second book of sonets chrestiens mis en musique for four voices
• Joachim a Burck
• *Officium Sacrosanctae Coenae Dominicae, super cantiunculam: Quam mirabilis ex primo libro odarum compositum for four voices
• *Hebdomas divinitus instituta for four voices
• Girolamo Diruta – Il primo libro de contrapunti, sopra il canto fermo delle antifone delle feste principali de tutto l'anno for five voices
• Placido Falconio
• *Turbarum voces for four voices, a collection of motets
• *Voces Christi for three voices, a collection of motets
• *Sacra Responsoria Hebdomadae Sanctae for four voices, a collection of responsories for Holy Week
• *Threni Hieremiae prophetae, una cum psalmis, Benedictus et Miserere for four voices, a setting of Lamentations
• Andrea Gabrieli – Second book of madrigals for six voices
• Jacobus Gallus
• *First book of masses for seven and eight voices
• *First book of masses for six voices
• *First book of masses for five voices
• *First book of masses for four voice
• Mikołaj Gomółka – Melodiae ná psałterz polski for four voices, a Polish psalter
• Eucharius Hoffmann – Geistlicher Lieder in irer gewöhnlichen Melodey auff Villanellen art for four voices, part one
• Marc'Antonio Ingegneri – Third book of madrigals for five voices
• Giorgio Mainerio – Sacra cantica Beatissimae Mariae Virginis omnitonum for six voices, a collection of Magnificats
• Luca Marenzio – First book of madrigals for five voices
• Tiburtio Massaino – Second book of motets for five voices
• Claudio Merulo – First book of madrigals for three voices
• Philippe de Monte
• *Fourth book of madrigals for six voices
• *Eighth book of madrigals for five voices
• *Ninth book of madrigals for five voices
• Leonhard Päminger – Quartus tomus cantionem ecclestiacarum..., published posthumously in Nuremberg
• Costanzo Porta – Liber quinquaginta duorum motectorum for four, five, six, seven, and eight voices
• Johann Wanning – Sacrae Cantiones quinque, sex, septem et octo voces compositae, et tum vivae voces, tum musicis instrumentis aptatae

Births

• July 6 – Johann Stobäus, German composer
• date unknown – Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, German-Italian performer and composer of lute, theorbo and chitarrone music
• probable
• *Michael East, English organist and composer
• *Thomas Ford, English composer
• *Adriana Basile, Italian composer

Deaths

• January 18 – Antonio Scandello, Italian composer
• April 1 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer and vihuelist
• September 15 – Geert van Turnhout, Flemish composer
• November 30 – Richard Farrant, English composer of church music, choirmaster, playwright and theatrical producer