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Newly discovered organ compositions by the musical genius Bach have been unveiled and performed in the central European country for the initial occasion in 320 years.

The country's Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer described the finding of the pair of works a "great moment for the world of music".

They initially attracted notice of a musical scholar in 1992 when he was documenting the composer's papers at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ pieces - the D minor Chaconne and G minor Chaconne - were without dates and anonymous. Mr Wollny spent the following three decades working to authenticate the origin of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were performed at the historic Leipzig church in the eastern German municipality, where the composer is buried and where he served as a music director for 27 years.

The pair of works were executed by organist from the Netherlands the musical performer, who said he was privileged to be able to present them for the initial performance in three hundred twenty years.

He said the compositions were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a great asset for modern musicians, as they are also well-suited for reduced-scale organs".

Cultural Relevance

They are thought to have been created at the beginning of Bach's professional life, when he was working as an organ instructor in the town of the Thuringian town in the German region.

The researcher, who is now the director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, said they displayed several qualities unique to the composer.

"In terms of style, the works also include characteristics that can be identified in Bach's compositions from that time, but not in those of different artists," he said.

They are thought to have been transcribed in the early eighteenth century by a student of Bach, the musical student.

At a unveiling of the works, Mr Wollny said he was "virtually certain that the composer had written the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the official catalogue of his compositions.