An employee of the Bach Archive Leipzig holding a print of two long-lost organ pieces written by a teenage Johann Sebastian Bach at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, November 17, 2025. JENS SCHLUETER / AFP
Two long-lost organ pieces written by a teenage Johann Sebastian Bach were unveiled in Germany on Monday, November 17, in a discovery described as a "great moment for the world of music." The two solo organ works, written while Bach was working as an organ teacher in the town of Arnstadt in Thuringia early in his career, first caught the attention of researchers over 30 years ago. But it is only now that experts have been able to prove they were written by Bach after finally confirming the identity of the person who penned the manuscripts.
The Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179 have been added to the official catalog of Bach's works as of Monday. They were also performed for the first time in 320 years at the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is buried and served as a cantor for 27 years.
In a press conference before the works were performed, Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer hailed the discovery as a "global sensation" and a "great moment for the world of music." "This is a source of great joy for many, many music lovers around the world," he said.
