Long-Forgotten Johann Sebastian Bach Pieces Played for First Time in 320 Years

Recently identified musical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been presented and performed in the central European country for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

The country's Minister of Culture the cultural official labeled the discovery of the two compositions a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They first caught the attention of a Bach researcher in 1992 when he was organizing Bach manuscripts at the Brussels archive.

The musical compositions - the Chaconne composition in D minor and G minor Chaconne - were dating unknown and unsigned. The scholar spent the subsequent thirty years working to authenticate the origin of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were played at the historic Leipzig church in the German city, where the composer is laid to rest and where he served as a church musician for twenty-seven years.

The pair of works were executed by Dutch musician the musical performer, who said he was honored to be able to play them for the premiere in three hundred twenty years.

He said the works were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "an important addition for organists today, as they are also suitable for reduced-scale organs".

Cultural Relevance

They are considered to have been composed early in Bach's career, when he was employed as an organ instructor in the town of the German town in Thuringia.

Mr Wollny, who is now the head of the Bach research center in the municipality, said they displayed several features unique to the composer.

"In terms of style, the compositions also contain characteristics that can be found in the composer's creations from this period, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are believed to have been transcribed in 1705 by Bach's apprentice, Salomon Günther John.

At a revealing of the works, the researcher said he was "almost completely confident that Bach had created the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the official catalogue of his works.