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Newly discovered musical pieces by the renowned composer Bach have been revealed and performed in the European nation for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

The country's Minister of Culture the cultural official described the finding of the two pieces a "significant occasion for the world of music".

They first caught the attention of a musical scholar in 1992 when he was organizing historical musical documents at the Brussels archive.

The musical compositions - the Chaconne in D minor and G minor composition - were undated and without attribution. The researcher spent the subsequent thirty years working to authenticate the origin of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were presented at the historic Leipzig church in Leipzig, where Bach is laid to rest and where he worked as a music director for 27 years.

The compositions were executed by Dutch organist Ton Koopman, who said he was honored to be able to present them for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

He said the compositions were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a valuable resource for modern musicians, as they are also suitable for smaller organs".

Historical Significance

They are thought to have been created at the beginning of Bach's professional life, when he was employed as an music instructor in the community of the Thuringian town in Thuringia.

The researcher, who is now the leader of the Bach research center in the city, said they displayed several features distinctive to the artist.

"Stylistically, the works also include aspects that can be found in Bach's compositions from that time, but not in those of different artists," he said.

They are believed to have been written down in the early eighteenth century by a student of Bach, Salomon Günther John.

At a revealing of the works, Mr Wollny said he was "virtually certain that Bach had created the two pieces" and they have now been incorporated into the recognized inventory of his compositions.