WILBYE, JOHN, English 16th-century madrigal composer, was born probably at Bury St Edmunds, but the details of his life are obscure. A set of madrigals by him appeared in 1598 and a second in 1608, the two sets containing sixty-four pieces; and from a few contributions known to have been made by him to other contemporary sets, we can infer that he was alive in 1614. He is the most famous of all the English madrigalists; his pieces have long been favourites and are included in modern collections.