The Concerto delle donne is founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina loses his wife in an outbreak of plague.
First recorded appearance of the English ballad Greensleeves.
Luca Marenzio – First book of madrigals a5
Johann Wanning – Sacrae Cantiones quinque, sex, septem et octo voces compositae, et tum vivae voces, tum musicis instrumentis aptatae (first part of first cycle of sacred de tempore motets)
July 6 – Johann Stobäus, German composer (d. 1646)
date unknown – Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, German-Italian performer and composer of lute, theorbo and chitarrone music (d. 1651)
probable
Michael East, English organist and composer (d. 1648)
Thomas Ford, English composer (d. 1648)
Adriana Basile, Italian composer (d. 1640)
January 18 – Antonio Scandello, Italian composer (b. 1517)
April 1 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer and vihuelist (b. c.1510)
September 15 – Geert van Turnhout, Flemish composer (b. c.1530)
November 30 – Richard Farrant, English composer of church music, choirmaster, playwright and theatrical producer (b. c.1530)
1580 in music Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
