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Previously unknown musical pieces by the renowned composer Bach have been presented and performed in Germany for the initial occasion in over three centuries.

The nation's Cultural Affairs Minister the cultural official called the discovery of the two pieces a "great moment for the musical community".

They initially attracted notice of a musical scholar in the early nineties when he was organizing Bach manuscripts at the Belgian royal collection.

The organ works - the Chaconne in D minor and G minor composition - were without dates and without attribution. Mr Wollny spent the following three decades working to confirm the authorship of the pieces.

Memorable Concert

They were presented at the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is buried and where he worked as a cantor for over two decades.

The two pieces were executed by Dutch musician the renowned organist, who said he was privileged to be able to play them for the first time in over three centuries.

He said the compositions were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a valuable resource for organists today, as they are also well-suited for more compact instruments".

Musical Importance

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

The scholar, who is now the director of the Bach research center in the municipality, said they displayed several features particular to the musical genius.

"Musically, the compositions also include characteristics that can be identified in the composer's creations from this period, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are considered to have been transcribed in the early eighteenth century by one of Bach's pupils, the musical student.

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 added into the recognized inventory of his works.