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Recently identified organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach have been unveiled and performed in the European nation for the first time in 320 years.

The country's Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer described the unearthing of the two pieces a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of a musical scholar in the early nineties when he was cataloguing the composer's papers at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ pieces - the Chaconne composition in D minor and G minor composition - were undated and without attribution. Mr Wollny spent the next 30 years working to authenticate the authorship of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were performed at the Thomas Church in the German city, where Bach is buried and where he worked as a church musician for 27 years.

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

He said the pieces were "exceptionally well-crafted" and would be "a great asset for organists today, as they are also well-suited for smaller organs".

Historical Significance

They are considered to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was working as an organ instructor in the municipality of the Thuringian town in central Germany.

The researcher, who is now the leader of the musical archive in Leipzig, said they demonstrated several characteristics distinctive to the musical genius.

"In terms of style, the pieces also include elements that can be observed in the composer's creations from that time, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

They are thought to have been recorded in 1705 by one of Bach's pupils, the musical student.

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