1591 in music
Events
- Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer, is appointed maestro de capilla by Seville Cathedral.
- Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer and successor to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina at St. Peter's, acquires post at Collegio Germanico in Rome.
- Giulio Belli, Italian composer, is appointed maestro di cappella at cathedral in Carpi, Italy.
- Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, Italian composer of the Roman School, is appointed maestro di cappella at S Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.
- John Bull becomes organist for Elizabeth I at the Chapel Royal.
- Emilio de' Cavalieri serves as a papal spy, engaging in several secret vote-buying missions to Florence.
Publications
- Giammateo Asola
- *Second book of masses for five voices
- *3 Masses for six voices
- John Baldwin completes My Ladye Nevells Booke, a manuscript anthology of keyboard music by William Byrd
- Paolo Bellasio – Madrigals for three, four, five, six, seven, and eight voices
- William Byrd, Catholic composer in England, publishes his Cantiones sacrae, Book 2, for five and six voices
- Giovanni Croce – Compietta for eight voices, music for Compline, his first publication
- Scipione Dentice – First book of madrigals for five voices
- John Farmer – Divers and sundrie waies of two parts in one, a collection of vocal canons
- Stefano Felis
- *Third book of motets for five voices
- *Sixth book of madrigals for five voices
- Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi – Balletti a5, published in Venice
- Gioseffo Guami – Fourth book of madrigals for five and six voices
- Adam Gumpelzhaimer
- *Compendium musicae, a music theory textbook in Latin and German
- *Neue Teutsche Geistliche Lieder for three voices
- Hans Leo Hassler – Cantiones sacrae de festis praecipuis totius anni for four, five, six, seven, eight, and more voices, a large collection of motets
- Marc'Antonio Ingegneri – First book of motets for six voices
- Luca Marenzio – Fifth book of madrigals for six voices
- Philippe de Monte – Sixth book of madrigals for six voices
- Johannes Nucius – Modulationes sacrae modis musicis for five and six voices
- Pietro Paolo Paciotto has his first book of masses published in Venice by Alessandro Gardano
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer, publishes a group of Magnificat settings, in Rome
- Andreas Pevernage – Fourth book of chansons for five voices
- Giaches de Wert, Franco-Flemish composer, publishes his tenth book of madrigals
Births
Deaths
- January 7 – Jacobus de Kerle, Netherlandish composer
- February 10 – Ambrose Lupo, court musician and composer to Tudor monarchs
- May 23 – John Blitheman, organist and composer
- July 2 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer, lutenist and music theorist, father of Galileo
- July 18 – Jacobus Gallus, German-Austrian composer
- July 30 – Andreas Pevernage, Flemish composer
- date unknown
- *Joan Brudieu, composer
- *William Mundy, composer of sacred music