🔗 Share this article

Recently identified musical pieces by the musical genius Bach have been revealed and played in Germany for the initial occasion in three hundred twenty years.

The nation's Culture Minister the cultural official labeled the finding of the pair of works a "great moment for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of Peter Wollny in the early nineties when he was organizing Bach manuscripts at the Belgian royal collection.

The organ pieces - the D minor Chaconne and Chaconne in G minor - were without dates and without attribution. The scholar spent the next 30 years working to authenticate the identity of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were presented at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is buried and where he served as a church musician for over two decades.

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

He said the pieces were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "an important addition for modern musicians, as they are also suitable for reduced-scale organs".

Musical Importance

They are thought to have been created at the beginning of Bach's professional life, when he was serving as an music instructor in the community of Arnstadt in Thuringia.

The researcher, who is now the leader of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, said they exhibited several features distinctive to the composer.

"Stylistically, the compositions also feature aspects that can be observed in Bach's compositions from this period, but not in those of different artists," he said.

They are believed to have been recorded in 1705 by a student of Bach, the historical figure.

At a presentation of the compositions, Mr Wollny said he was "99.99% sure that the composer had composed the pair of works" and they have now been added into the recognized inventory of his works.