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Newly discovered organ compositions by the renowned composer Bach have been presented and played in the central European country for the premiere performance in three hundred twenty years.

The nation's Cultural Affairs Minister the government representative labeled the finding of the pair of works a "significant occasion for the world of music".

They first caught the attention of Peter Wollny in the early nineties when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ pieces - the D minor Chaconne and Chaconne in G minor - were dating unknown and without attribution. The scholar spent the subsequent thirty years working to confirm the authorship of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were played at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where the composer is interred and where he served as a music director for 27 years.

The compositions were played by Dutch organist Ton Koopman, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the first time in over three centuries.

He said the pieces were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a great asset for contemporary organ players, as they are also appropriate for reduced-scale organs".

Cultural Relevance

They are considered to have been composed early in Bach's career, when he was working as an organ teacher in the municipality of Arnstadt in Thuringia.

The researcher, who is now the director of the Bach Archive in the municipality, said they exhibited several qualities unique to the composer.

"In terms of style, the compositions also feature aspects that can be identified in Bach's works from that era, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are believed to have been recorded in 1705 by Bach's apprentice, Salomon Günther John.

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