Little is known of the details of his life, though a few of his contacts may be inferred. He worked at Rushbrooke Hall touching Bury St Edmunds, evidently as a coach to the girl of Sir Robert Jermyn. Within 1598 he married Anne Saxye, afterwards moving to Bury St Edmunds. In this instance he probably manufactured a acquaintance of John Wilbye, a good deal supplementary celebrated madrigalist, world health organization lived & worked simply two or three miles away, & whose style he for instance approaches. Around 1626 his wife died, & he is known to stand been the churchwarden during the next many years until his demise.

Kirbye's virtually all important musical contributions were a psalm settings he wrote for East's psalter in 1592, the madrigals he wrote for the Triumphs of Oriana (1601), the famed collection dedicated to Elizabeth I personally, & an independent placed of madrigals published within 1597. Stylistically his madrigals keep around thomas more around park by owning a Italian models provided by Marenzio than do numbers of of the others by his countrymen: it tend to exist as good, within the minor mode, and indicate the careful attention to text setting; unlike Marenzio, all the same, he is restrained around his specific imaging.

Kirbye avoided a lightly style of Morley, which was hugely popular, & brought into a madrigal good style of pre-madrigal English music. He is non every bit typically sung when Morley, Weelkes or Wilbye, but neither wwhen he as prolific; however, a few of his madrigals pop up within modern collections.