Long-Forgotten Bach Pieces Presented for First-Ever Performance in Three Centuries
Newly discovered musical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been presented and executed in Germany for the premiere performance in 320 years.
Germany's Minister of Culture the government representative labeled the finding of the two pieces a "significant occasion for the global music scene".
They initially attracted notice of a Bach researcher in 1992 when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Royal Library of Belgium.
The organ works - the Chaconne composition in D minor and G minor Chaconne - were dating unknown and unsigned. The researcher spent the subsequent thirty years working to confirm the authorship of the pieces.
Memorable Concert
They were presented at the Thomas Church in the eastern German municipality, where the composer is interred and where he was employed as a church musician for 27 years.
The pair of works were played by Dutch musician the renowned organist, who said he was honored to be able to play them for the initial performance in 320 years.
He said the pieces were "exceptionally well-crafted" 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 serving as an organ instructor in the town of Arnstadt in the German region.
The researcher, who is now the director of the Bach Archive in the municipality, said they displayed several qualities unique to the composer.
"Stylistically, the works also contain elements that can be identified in the composer's creations from that era, but not in those of other musicians," he said.
They are thought to have been recorded in the early eighteenth century by a student of Bach, Salomon Günther John.
At a unveiling of the compositions, the researcher said he was "almost completely confident that the composer had created the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the official catalogue of his works.
- European Arts
- Germany
- Classical compositions
- Musical Arts