Lost Bach Works Performed for First Time in Over Three Centuries

Previously unknown organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach have been unveiled and performed in Germany for the initial occasion in over three centuries.

The country's Cultural Affairs Minister the cultural official labeled the discovery of the pair of works a "significant occasion for the world of music".

They initially attracted notice of a Bach researcher in 1992 when he was cataloguing Bach manuscripts at the Brussels archive.

The organ pieces - the Chaconne in D minor and G minor composition - were undated and anonymous. The researcher spent the subsequent thirty years working to authenticate the origin of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were presented at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where the composer is buried and where he served as a music director for twenty-seven years.

The compositions were executed by Dutch musician the renowned organist, who said he was honored to be able to perform them for the premiere in three hundred twenty years.

He said the compositions were "exceptionally well-crafted" and would be "a great asset for contemporary organ players, as they are also appropriate for more compact instruments".

Cultural Relevance

They are thought to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was working as an music instructor in the municipality of the Thuringian town in the German region.

The scholar, who is now the head of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, said they demonstrated several qualities distinctive to the composer.

"In terms of style, the works also include aspects that can be found in Bach's works from that era, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

They are considered to have been transcribed in the early eighteenth century by a student of Bach, the musical student.

At a revealing of the pieces, the researcher said he was "virtually certain that Bach had created the pair of works" and they have now been included into the official catalogue of his works.