Rediscovered Bach Works Premiere After 320 Years

Tue Nov 18 2025 02:03:13 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Two previously unknown organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed for the first time in over three centuries at St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany.

In a landmark event for classical music, the two organ works, identified as the Chaconne in D minor and Chaconne in G minor, were recently performed after being catalogued by music researcher Peter Wollny. The pieces, believed to have been composed early in Bach's career, capture the unique style of the composer and are seen as valuable additions to his body of work.

Previously unknown organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach have been presented and performed in Germany for the first time in 320 years.

Germany's Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer called the discovery of the two pieces a 'great moment for the world of music'.

They first caught the attention of the Peter Wollny, a researcher of the German composer and musician, in 1992 when he was cataloguing Bach manuscripts at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels.

The organ works - the Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179 - were undated and unsigned. Mr Wollny spent the next 30 years working to confirm the identity of the pieces.

They were performed at the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is buried and where he worked as a cantor for 27 years.

The two pieces were played by Dutch organist Ton Koopman, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the first time in 320 years. He described the pieces as 'of a very high quality' and suitable for smaller organs.

These works are believed to have been composed early in Bach's career, when he was teaching organ in the town of Arnstadt in Thuringia. Mr Wollny, who is now the director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, confirmed they contained several characteristics unique to Bach's style.

He stated, 'Stylistically, the works also contain features that can be found in Bach's works from this period, but not in those of any other composer.' The pieces are believed to have been documented in 1705 by one of Bach's pupils.

At a presentation, Mr Wollny expressed his confidence, saying he was '99.99% sure that Bach had written the two pieces,' which have now been added to the official catalogue of his works.