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Newly discovered organ compositions by the musical genius Bach have been unveiled and performed in the European nation for the first time in over three centuries.

Germany's Culture Minister the cultural official labeled the discovery of the two compositions a "important event for the world of music".

They originally drew interest of a musical scholar in 1992 when he was cataloguing the composer's papers at the Belgian royal collection.

The musical compositions - the D minor Chaconne and G minor composition - were dating unknown and anonymous. The researcher spent the subsequent thirty years working to confirm the identity of the pieces.

Historic Performance

They were presented at the Thomas Church in the eastern German municipality, where Bach is buried and where he served as a music director for over two decades.

The compositions were played by organist from the Netherlands Ton Koopman, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the first time in 320 years.

He said the pieces were "remarkably sophisticated" and would be "a great asset for organists today, as they are also suitable for more compact instruments".

Musical Importance

They are thought to have been composed early in Bach's career, when he was working as an music instructor in the community of the Thuringian town in Thuringia.

The scholar, who is now the head of the Bach research center in Leipzig, said they exhibited several characteristics particular to the composer.

"Stylistically, the compositions also include aspects that can be identified in Bach's compositions from this period, but not in those of other musicians," he said.

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

At a revealing of the pieces, the expert said he was "almost completely confident that the composer had created the two pieces" and they have now been incorporated into the recognized inventory of his compositions.