1656 in music

The year 1656 in music involved some significant events.

Publications

Michel Lambert's first compositions are printed by Ballard.

Classical music

• Johann Jakob Froberger – Libro quarto

Opera

• William Davenant – The Siege of Rhodes – Composers included Henry Lawes and Matthew Locke

Births

• May 31 – Marin Marais, violin player and composer (died 1728)
• September 9 – Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, composer (died 1746)
• November 3 – Georg Reutter, theorbo player and composer (died 1738)
• date unknown
  • Jean-Baptiste Moreau, composer (died 1733)
  • Johann Paul von Westhoff, violinist and composer (died 1705)

Deaths

• June 9 – Thomas Tomkins, composer (born 1572)
• July – Michelangelo Rossi, violinist and composer (born 1601 or 1602)
• November 6 - King John IV of Portugal, patron of music and the arts, writer on music, and amateur composer
• date unknown
  • Andrea Falconieri, lutenist and composer (born c.1585)
  • Francesco Turini, organist and composer (born c. 1595)