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Recently identified musical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been unveiled and played in the central European country for the first time in three hundred twenty years.

Germany's Cultural Affairs Minister the cultural official labeled the finding of the pair of works a "great moment for the world of music".

They first caught the attention of Peter Wollny in 1992 when he was documenting historical musical documents at the Royal Library of Belgium.

The organ works - the D minor Chaconne and Chaconne in G minor - were without dates and unsigned. Mr Wollny spent the next 30 years working to verify the identity of the pieces.

Memorable Concert

They were played at the Thomas Church in the German city, where the composer is interred and where he was employed as a cantor for 27 years.

The two pieces were played by Dutch musician Ton Koopman, who said he was privileged to be able to present them for the premiere in 320 years.

He said the works were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "an important addition for modern musicians, as they are also suitable for smaller organs".

Musical Importance

They are thought to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was working as an music instructor in the municipality of the German town in the German region.

The scholar, who is now the leader of the musical archive in the municipality, said they demonstrated several characteristics distinctive to the artist.

"Stylistically, the pieces also contain characteristics that can be observed in the composer's creations from this period, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

They are thought to have been transcribed in 1705 by a student of Bach, the historical figure.

At a presentation of the works, Mr Wollny said he was "virtually certain that Bach had written the pair of works" and they have now been incorporated into the recognized inventory of his works.