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

Previously unknown musical pieces by the renowned composer Bach have been unveiled and played in Germany for the initial occasion in over three centuries.

Germany's Cultural Affairs Minister the government representative described the discovery of the two compositions a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of a musical scholar in the early nineties when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ works - the Chaconne in D minor and G minor composition - were undated and without attribution. The researcher spent the following three decades working to authenticate the identity of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were performed at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is interred and where he served as a cantor for twenty-seven years.

The compositions were played by organist from the Netherlands the musical performer, who said he was privileged to be able to perform them for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

He said the works were "of a very high quality" and would be "a valuable resource for organists today, as they are also well-suited for smaller organs".

Musical Importance

They are considered to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was serving as an music instructor in the municipality of Arnstadt in central Germany.

The scholar, who is now the head of the musical archive in Leipzig, said they exhibited several features unique to the musical genius.

"Stylistically, the compositions also include elements that can be observed in Bach's compositions from that time, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

They are considered to have been written down in 1705 by Bach's apprentice, the musical student.

At a unveiling of the works, the researcher said he was "99.99% sure that the composer had written the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the official catalogue of his musical output.