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Previously unknown organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach have been revealed and played in the European nation for the premiere performance in three hundred twenty years.

Germany's Minister of Culture the government representative labeled the unearthing of the pair of works a "important event for the global music scene".

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

The organ pieces - the D minor Chaconne and G minor composition - were dating unknown and without attribution. The researcher spent the subsequent thirty years working to verify the origin of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were played at the Thomas Church in Leipzig, where the composer is laid to rest and where he worked as a church musician for 27 years.

The pair of works were performed by Dutch musician Ton Koopman, who said he was honored to be able to perform them for the premiere in over three centuries.

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

Musical Importance

They are believed to have been created during Bach's formative years, when he was employed as an organ instructor in the community of the German town in Thuringia.

The researcher, who is now the leader of the musical archive in the city, said they exhibited several characteristics unique to the composer.

"In terms of style, the compositions also contain elements that can be observed in Bach's compositions from that time, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

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

At a presentation of the works, the expert said he was "almost completely confident that the composer had created the two pieces" and they have now been incorporated into the recognized inventory of his works.