Two previously unknown works by musical genius JS Bach unveiled

Two organ solo works by Johann Sebastian Bach, lost for more than 30 years, were published and performed for the first time in Germany on November 17, thereby opening up to the public another "mysterious piece" in the career of this great composer.

Two long-lost organ pieces composed by Johann Sebastian Bach as a teenager were performed in Germany on November 17. Photo: uk.news.yahoo.com

The two pieces – “Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178” and “Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179” – were written by Bach when he was around 18 years old, during his time as an organ teacher in the town of Arnstadt, in the state of Thuringia (Thüringen, central Germany). Although these manuscripts have been noticed by researchers for more than 30 years, it is only now that experts have confirmed with certainty that they belong to the early period of Bach’s career.

The Bach Database in Leipzig said researcher Peter Wollny first discovered the two manuscripts at the Royal Library of Belgium in 1992. Although the content bears many of the musical hallmarks of the young Bach, the manuscripts were unsigned and undated, making verification take decades.

It wasn’t until recent years that experts discovered a crucial clue: strikingly similar handwriting in a 1729 letter from Salomon Guenther John, Bach’s student in Arnstadt. However, since the letter was written 20 years earlier than the manuscript, researchers still needed more evidence.

The turning point came when samples of John's handwriting from the exact period 1705 were found, which matched the handwriting in the two chaconnes exactly.

“I have been searching for a long time for the final piece to identify the work. Now the ‘picture’ is complete. We can say with certainty that these copies were written by Bach’s pupils around 1705,” Mr. Wollny said.

The two works were officially included in Bach's repertoire on the day of the announcement and were performed at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig – where Bach served as Cantor for 27 years and where he is also buried.

Renowned organist Ton Koopman, director of the Bach Data Center, performed the Chaconne in D minor (about 6.5 minutes) and Chaconne in G minor (about 3.5 minutes). Koopman said these were works of “very high caliber” for a teenager. “We often think of genius as only blossoming in adulthood, but Bach – and Mozart – proved otherwise,” he said.

Bach (1685–1750), the author of the Brandenburg Concertos, was once respectfully called by Beethoven as “the immortal god of harmony”. Therefore, the appearance of two new works after more than 300 years is considered a priceless gift for researchers and classical music lovers.

According to VNA

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/cong-bo-hai-tac-pham-chua-tung-biet-toi-cua-thien-tai-am-nhac-js-bach-a467554.html