🔗 Share this article

Newly discovered organ compositions by the renowned composer Bach have been revealed and played in the central European country for the premiere performance in three hundred twenty years.

The nation's Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer labeled the finding of the two compositions a "important event for the global music scene".

They originally drew interest of a musical scholar in 1992 when he was documenting historical musical documents at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ works - the D minor Chaconne and G minor composition - were without dates and unsigned. Mr Wollny spent the next 30 years working to authenticate the origin of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were presented at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where the composer is interred and where he served as a music director for 27 years.

The two pieces were played by Dutch musician the renowned organist, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the initial performance in 320 years.

He said the compositions were "of a very high quality" and would be "an important addition for organists today, as they are also well-suited for reduced-scale organs".

Musical Importance

They are believed to have been composed during Bach's formative years, when he was serving as an organ teacher in the community of the Thuringian town in the German region.

The researcher, who is now the director of the Bach research center in Leipzig, said they displayed several features unique to the composer.

"In terms of style, the works also feature aspects that can be found in Bach's works from that time, but not in those of different artists," he said.

They are believed to have been written down in the early eighteenth century by a student of Bach, Salomon Günther John.

At a presentation of the pieces, the expert said he was "99.99% sure that the composer had written the two pieces" and they have now been incorporated into the authoritative listing of his compositions.