🔗 Share this article

Previously unknown organ compositions by the renowned composer Bach have been revealed and executed in Germany for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

The country's Cultural Affairs Minister the cultural official described the finding of the two compositions a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They originally drew interest of a musical scholar in 1992 when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Belgian royal collection.

The organ works - the Chaconne composition in D minor and G minor Chaconne - were undated and unsigned. Mr Wollny spent the subsequent thirty years working to verify the authorship of the pieces.

Memorable Concert

They were performed at the Thomas Church in the eastern German municipality, where Bach is laid to rest and where he served as a cantor for 27 years.

The two pieces were performed by organist from the Netherlands the renowned organist, who said he was privileged to be able to present them for the premiere in three hundred twenty years.

He said the works were "of a very high quality" and would be "a great asset for modern musicians, as they are also well-suited for reduced-scale organs".

Musical Importance

They are thought to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was employed as an organ instructor in the municipality of the German town in central Germany.

The scholar, who is now the director of the Bach research center in the municipality, said they exhibited several characteristics particular to the artist.

"Stylistically, the compositions also contain aspects that can be identified in Bach's compositions from that era, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are believed to have been recorded in 1705 by a student of Bach, Salomon Günther John.

At a unveiling of the pieces, the researcher said he was "almost completely confident that Bach had written the two pieces" and they have now been added into the recognized inventory of his compositions.