Two previously unknown organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach have been presented and performed in Germany for the first time in over 320 years. Germany’s Culture Minister, Wolfram Weimer, remarked on the significance of discovering these pieces.
The compositions, identified as the Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179, were first noted by researcher Peter Wollny while he was cataloguing Bach manuscripts at the Royal Library of Belgium in 1992. These works were unsigned and undated, and Wollny dedicated three decades to verifying their authorship.
The pieces were performed at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is both buried and served as a cantor for 27 years. Dutch organist Ton Koopman played the works during the performance, expressing pride in presenting them after such a long absence. He noted that the compositions were of “very high quality” and deemed them valuable for contemporary organists, especially since they can be played on smaller organs.
Scholars believe these works were composed early in Bach’s career while he was an organ teacher in Arnstadt, Thuringia. Wollny, currently the director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, highlighted that the pieces exhibit unique traits typical of Bach’s style from that period, which are not found in the works of other composers. It is suggested that these pieces may have been transcribed in 1705 by one of Bach’s pupils, Salomon Günther John.
During a presentation of the works, Wollny expressed high certainty regarding Bach’s authorship, stating he is “99.99% sure” that Bach created the two compositions. They have since been included in the official catalog of Bach’s works.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wlr7r747eo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss