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 (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino)
 * 3 Masses for six voices (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino)
 * 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 (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino)
 * William Byrd, Catholic composer in England, publishes his Cantiones sacrae, Book 2, for five and six voices (London: Thomas East for William Byrd)
 * Giovanni Croce – Compietta for eight voices (Venice: Giacomo Vincenti), music for Compline, his first publication
 * Scipione Dentice – First book of madrigals for five voices (Naples: Matteo Cancer)
 * John Farmer – Divers and sundrie waies of two parts in one (London: Thomas East), a collection of vocal canons
 * Stefano Felis
 * Third book of motets for five voices (Venice: Girolamo Scotto)
 * Sixth book of madrigals for five voices (Venice: Scipione Rizzo for Girolamo Scotto)
 * Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi – Balletti a5, published in Venice
 * Gioseffo Guami – Fourth book of madrigals for five and six voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano)
 * Adam Gumpelzhaimer
 * Compendium musicae (Augsburg: Valentin Schönigk), a music theory textbook in Latin and German
 * Neue Teutsche Geistliche Lieder for three voices (Augsburg: Valentin Schönigk)
 * Hans Leo Hassler – Cantiones sacrae de festis praecipuis totius anni for four, five, six, seven, eight, and more voices (Augsburg: Valentin Schönigk), a large collection of motets
 * Marc'Antonio Ingegneri – First book of motets for six voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano)
 * Luca Marenzio – Fifth book of madrigals for six voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano)
 * Philippe de Monte – Sixth book of madrigals for six voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano)
 * Johannes Nucius – Modulationes sacrae modis musicis for five and six voices (Prague: Georg Nigrinus)
 * 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 (Antwerp: widow of Plantin & Jean Mourentorf)
 * Giaches de Wert, Franco-Flemish composer, publishes his tenth book of madrigals

Births

 * October 6 – Settimia Caccini, Italian composer and singer, younger daughter of Giulio Caccini and sister of Francesca Caccini (died 1638)
 * date unknown
 * Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Cretan music theorist, in Candia (Iraklion) (died 1655)
 * Robert Dowland, lutenist and composer (died 1641)

Deaths

 * January 7 – Jacobus de Kerle, Netherlandish composer
 * February 10 – Ambrose Lupo, court musician and composer to Tudor monarchs (date of birth unknown)
 * May 23 – John Blitheman, organist and composer (born 1525)
 * July 2 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer, lutenist and music theorist, father of Galileo (born 1520)
 * July 18 – Jacobus Gallus (Jakob Handl), Slovene composer (born 1550)
 * July 30 – Andreas Pevernage, Flemish composer (born 1542/43)
 * date unknown
 * Joan Brudieu, composer (born 1520)
 * William Mundy, composer of sacred music (born 1529)