1581 in music

	… 1571; 1572; 1573; 1574; 1575; 1576; 1577; ; 1578; 1579; 1580; 1581; 1582; 1583; 1584; ; 1585; 1586; 1587; 1588; 1589; 1590; 1591 …;
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Events

October 15 – Performance of Ballet Comique de la Reine, the first narrative ballet (incorporating the story of Circe), devised by Louise of Lorraine, wife of Henry III of France, with music by the royal master of music Jacques Salmon and the bass singer Girard de Beaulieu and choreography by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx, opens at the court of Catherine de' Medici in the Louvre Palace in Paris as part of the wedding celebrations for Marguerite of Lorraine.
Ginés Pérez de la Parra becomes composer and musical director at Orihuela cathedral.
Marc'Antonio Ingegneri becomes maestro di cappella of Cremona cathedral.

Lodovico Agostini – L'Echo et enigmi musicali for six voices, book 2 (Venice: Alessandro Gardano)
Costanzo Antegnati – Sacrae cantiones (motets) for four voices (Brescia: Vincenzo Sabbio)
Giammateo Asola – Secundus liber in quo reliquae missae octonis compositae tonis (Venice: Angelo Gardano)
Joachim a Burck – Threnodia (Komm wenn du wilt Herr Jesu Christ) for four voices (Frankfurt: Nikolaus Basse)
Severin Cornet
- Cantiones musicae for five, six, seven, and eight voices (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin)
- Chansons françoyses for five, six, and eight voices (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin)
- Madrigals for five, six, seven, and eight voices (Antwerp: Christophe Plantin)
Giovanni Dragoni – First book of madrigals for four voices (Venice: Girolamo Scotto)
Luca Marenzio – Second book of madrigals for five voices
Philippe de Monte – Fourth book of madrigals for four voices
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina — First book of madrigals for five voices
Benedetto Pallavicino – First book of madrigals for five voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano)

Fabritio Caroso – Il Ballerino, Italian dance manual, containing much dance music
Vincenzo Galilei – Dialogo della musica antica, et della moderna (Dialogue Concerning Ancient and Modern Music)

May 7 – Alexander Utendal, Flemish composer (born 1543/45)
date unknown – Joachim Thibault de Courville, French composer, singer, lutenist and player of the lyre
probable – Antoine de Bertrand (born 1530/1540)