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Previously unknown organ works by the musical genius Bach have been presented and performed in the European nation for the first time in 320 years.

Germany's Cultural Affairs Minister the cultural official labeled the finding of the two compositions a "significant occasion for the musical community".

They first caught the attention of Peter Wollny in 1992 when he was documenting historical musical documents at the Brussels archive.

The organ pieces - the Chaconne composition in D minor and G minor Chaconne - were without dates and unsigned. The scholar spent the subsequent thirty years working to verify the origin of the pieces.

Landmark Presentation

They were presented at the historic Leipzig church in Leipzig, where the composer is laid to rest and where he worked as a music director for twenty-seven years.

The two pieces were executed by Dutch organist the musical performer, who said he was proud to be able to perform them for the initial performance in over three centuries.

He said the compositions were "exceptionally well-crafted" and would be "an important addition for organists today, as they are also appropriate for more compact instruments".

Musical Importance

They are considered to have been created early in Bach's career, when he was serving as an organ instructor in the community of Arnstadt in central Germany.

Mr Wollny, who is now the head of the Bach research center in the city, said they demonstrated several features particular to the artist.

"Musically, the compositions also contain elements that can be found in Bach's compositions from this period, but not in those of any other composer," he said.

They are believed to have been transcribed in the early eighteenth century by Bach's apprentice, Salomon Günther John.

At a revealing of the works, the researcher said he was "virtually certain that Bach had created the two pieces" and they have now been included into the official catalogue of his works.