Long-Forgotten Bach Compositions Performed for First Time in Over Three Centuries

Newly discovered organ works by the musical genius Bach have been unveiled and executed in the central European country for the initial occasion in three hundred twenty years.

The country's Culture Minister the cultural official described the discovery of the two compositions a "important event for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of a Bach researcher in 1992 when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Belgian royal collection.

The musical compositions - the D minor Chaconne and Chaconne in G minor - were without dates and anonymous. Mr Wollny spent the subsequent thirty years working to authenticate the authorship of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were presented at the Thomas Church in the German city, where the composer is interred and where he worked as a cantor for over two decades.

The compositions were performed by organist from the Netherlands the renowned organist, who said he was privileged to be able to play them for the initial performance in over three centuries.

He said the works were "of a very high quality" and would be "a great asset for contemporary organ players, as they are also suitable for smaller organs".

Cultural Relevance

They are thought to have been written during Bach's formative years, when he was employed as an music instructor in the community of Arnstadt in the German region.

The researcher, who is now the director of the musical archive in the municipality, said they exhibited several characteristics distinctive to the artist.

"Stylistically, the works also feature characteristics that can be identified in the composer's creations from that time, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are considered to have been written down in the early eighteenth century by one of Bach's pupils, the musical student.

At a revealing of the works, Mr Wollny said he was "almost completely confident that the composer had written the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the official catalogue of his compositions.