The year 1611 in music involved some significant events.

Events

• January 1 – Oberon, the Faery Prince, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace; it features music by Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger and Robert Johnson.
• February 3 – Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly, another Jonson/Jones masque, is performed at Whitehall, with music by Ferrabosco.

Publications

• Agostino Agazzari
  • Psalms and a Magnificat for five voices, Op. 13 (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino)
  • Sertum roseum ex plantis Hiericho, Op. 14 (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino), a collection of sacred songs
  • Chorus psalmorum ac Magnificat... for eight voices, Op. 15 (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino)
• Giovanni Francesco Anerio
  • Second book of motets (Rome: Bartolomeo Zannetti)
  • Litaniae deiparae virginis (Rome: Bartolomeo Zannetti)
  • Recreatione armonica, madrigals for one and two voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano & fratelli)
• Robert Ballard – a collection of arrangements for the lute.
• Valerio Bona
  • Li dilettevoli introiti della messa a doi chori brevi, facili, & ariosi (Delightful introits of the mass for two choirs, short, easy, & airy), Op. 18 (Venice: Giacomo Vincenti)
  • Masses and Vespers for four choirs, Op. 19 (Venice: Giacomo Vincenti)
• Bernardino Borlasca – Second book of canzonettas for three voices (Venice: Giacomo Vincenti)
• William Byrd – Psalms, Songs, and Sonnets for three, four, five, and six parts (London: Thomas East for William Barley)
• Antonio Cifra – 7 Psalms for four voices, Op. 10 (Rome: Giovanni Battista Robletti)
• Christoph Demantius – Threnodiae (Quis dabit oculis nostris fontem) for six voices (Leipzig: Abraham Lamberg), funeral music to commemorate the death of Christian II, Elector of Saxony on June 23
• Christian Erbach – Sacrarum cantionum, third book, for four and five voices (Augsburg: Johann Praetorius)
• Giacomo Finetti
  • Psalmi ad vesperas in solemnitate sanctissimi corporis Christi for eight voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano & fratelli), Vespers psalms for Corpus Christi
  • Second book of motets for two voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano & fratelli)
• Melchior Franck
  • Tricinia nova (New Trios) (Nuremberg: David Kauffmann)
  • Vincula Natalitia for five, six, and eight voices (Coburg: Justus Hauck), birthday motets
  • Opusculum for four, five, six, and eight voices (Coburg: Justus Hauck), a collection of motets
  • Fasciculus Quodlibeticus for four, five, six, and eight voices (Coburg: Justus Hauck), a collection of quodlibets
  • Gratulationes Musicae for five voices (Coburg: Justus Hauck), two wedding songs with psalm texts
  • Ein schöner Trostreicher Text (Mir hastu arbeit gemacht) auß dem 43. Capitel Esaiae for five voices (Coburg: Justus Hauck), a birthday song with text from Isaiah 43
• Bartholomäus Gesius
  • Missae ad imitationem cantionum Orlandi, et aliorum probatissimorum musicorum for five voices (Frankfurt an der Oder: Friedrich Hartmann)
  • Echo maritalis for eight voices (Frankfurt an der Oder: Friedrich Hartmann), a wedding motet
• Carlo Gesualdo
  • Fifth book of madrigals for five voices (Naples: Giovanni Giacomo Carlino)
  • Sixth book of madrigals for five voices (Naples: Giovanni Giacomo Carlino)
  • Responsoria et alia ad Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae spectantia, for six voices (Naples: Giovanni Giacomo Carlino)
• Sigismondo d'India – Second book of madrigals for five voices (Venice: Angelo Gardano & fratelli)
• Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger – Libro primo d'intavolatura di lauto (Rome)
• Claudio Merulo – Third book of canzoni d’intavolatura d’organo (Venice: Angelo Gardano), published posthumously
• Giovanni Bernardino Nanino – Second book of motets for one, two, three, four, and five voices with organ bass (Rome: Giovanni Battista Robletti)
• Jonas Germundi Palma — Een christeligh jula songh... (Stockholm: Christoph Reusner)
• Angelo Paoletti – Sacrae cantiones (Rome: Giovanni Battista Robletti)
• Claudio Pari – Il pastor fido, second book of madrigals for five voices (Palermo: Giovanni Battista Maringo)
• Parthenia, a collection of keyboard music by John Bull, William Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons
• Serafino Patta — Sacra cantica... (Venice: Giacomo Vincenti)

Popular music

• Thomas Ravenscroft – Melismata

Classical music

Opera

• Giulio Cesare Monteverdi – Il rapimento di Proserpina ^[1]

Births

• June 22 – Pablo Bruna, blind organist and composer (died 1679)^[2]
• December – Leonora Baroni, singer, instrumentalist and composer (died 1670)
• date unknown – Thomas Brewer, composer who introduced the "glee"

Deaths

• July – Simon Lohet, organist and composer (born c. 1550)
• August 20 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, composer (born c. 1548)
• date unknown
  • Livia d'Arco, singer (born c. 1565)
  • Pierre-Francisque Caroubel, violinist and composer (born 1556)
  • Johannes Eccard, composer and conductor (born 1553)
  • Gioseffo Guami, organist, singer and composer (born c. 1540)