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Newly discovered musical pieces by the renowned composer Bach have been unveiled and played in the central European country for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

Germany's Culture Minister the cultural official called the finding of the two compositions a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of Peter Wollny in 1992 when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Brussels archive.

The organ works - the Chaconne composition in D minor and Chaconne in G minor - were undated and unsigned. The researcher spent the next 30 years working to authenticate the identity of the pieces.

Memorable Concert

They were presented at the historic Leipzig church in the German city, where Bach is laid to rest and where he served as a church musician for over two decades.

The compositions were performed by organist from the Netherlands the renowned organist, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the first time in 320 years.

He said the compositions were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a valuable resource for modern musicians, as they are also well-suited for more compact instruments".

Musical Importance

They are believed to have been written during Bach's formative years, when he was employed as an music instructor in the municipality of the Thuringian town in central Germany.

The scholar, who is now the head of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, said they displayed several qualities particular to the artist.

"Musically, the compositions also include elements that can be observed in the composer's creations from that time, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

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

At a unveiling of the pieces, the researcher said he was "almost completely confident that Bach had written the two pieces" and they have now been incorporated into the recognized inventory of his musical output.