For 35 years, renowned musicologist Peter Wollny has been driven by an 'inner duty' to uncover the authorship of two enigmatic organ works attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. The mystery began in 1992 when Wollny stumbled upon these two intriguing scores, tucked away in a dusty library, and felt compelled to unravel their secrets.
Despite his extensive research spanning decades, Wollny initially didn't consider the possibility that these works could be composed by Bach himself. Instead, he suspected they might have been penned by one of his students or a copyist. However, as his investigation progressed, he noticed peculiar characteristics in the handwriting on the documents – traits not found in Bach's known compositions.
Wollny spent years analyzing the unique features of the score, including an unusual seven-bar ostinato bass motif and a four-part fugue that was unprecedented at the time. His painstaking work yielded an impressive list of 20 additional documents with matching handwriting, all dated between 1705 and 1715.
The breakthrough came in 2012 when Wollny's colleague Bernd Koska discovered a letter written by Salomon Günther John, an organist who applied for a job at Schleiz Church. The letter confirmed that the handwriting on Wollny's documents matched John's, thereby connecting him to the disputed works.
The researchers carefully weighed the evidence, dismissing a theory suggesting that the compositions might have been penned by John as his teacher Bach. Instead, they were convinced that the young student, Salomon Günther John, was the likely author of these remarkable organ works.
Wollny's perseverance ultimately paid off in 2023 when a court document written by John in 1716 matched the handwriting with absolute certainty. The musicologist recalled his reaction to the breakthrough with a humble grin, saying he didn't celebrate in an exaggerated manner but felt content knowing that his life-long quest had finally been resolved.
This remarkable story highlights the dedication and perseverance required to uncover lost musical treasures. As Wollny noted wistfully, the advent of artificial intelligence might streamline such processes in the future, but for now, it's a testament to human intuition and meticulous research that these enigmatic works have been brought to light after three-and-a-half decades of tireless effort.
Despite his extensive research spanning decades, Wollny initially didn't consider the possibility that these works could be composed by Bach himself. Instead, he suspected they might have been penned by one of his students or a copyist. However, as his investigation progressed, he noticed peculiar characteristics in the handwriting on the documents – traits not found in Bach's known compositions.
Wollny spent years analyzing the unique features of the score, including an unusual seven-bar ostinato bass motif and a four-part fugue that was unprecedented at the time. His painstaking work yielded an impressive list of 20 additional documents with matching handwriting, all dated between 1705 and 1715.
The breakthrough came in 2012 when Wollny's colleague Bernd Koska discovered a letter written by Salomon Günther John, an organist who applied for a job at Schleiz Church. The letter confirmed that the handwriting on Wollny's documents matched John's, thereby connecting him to the disputed works.
The researchers carefully weighed the evidence, dismissing a theory suggesting that the compositions might have been penned by John as his teacher Bach. Instead, they were convinced that the young student, Salomon Günther John, was the likely author of these remarkable organ works.
Wollny's perseverance ultimately paid off in 2023 when a court document written by John in 1716 matched the handwriting with absolute certainty. The musicologist recalled his reaction to the breakthrough with a humble grin, saying he didn't celebrate in an exaggerated manner but felt content knowing that his life-long quest had finally been resolved.
This remarkable story highlights the dedication and perseverance required to uncover lost musical treasures. As Wollny noted wistfully, the advent of artificial intelligence might streamline such processes in the future, but for now, it's a testament to human intuition and meticulous research that these enigmatic works have been brought to light after three-and-a-half decades of tireless effort.
He was on this crazy mission to figure out if those Bach organ works were actually written by the guy himself. I mean, it's like a real-life detective story! 
The way he pieced together all these clues, including the handwriting and the documents... it's just mind-blowing. And to think that Salomon Günther John was probably sitting there thinking "yeah, I wrote those" 
. It's amazing how much work and dedication went into solving this mystery. AI might be able to help with stuff like this in the future, but for now, it's all about human intuition and perseverance. Kudos to Wollny for sticking it out! 
). It's a great reminder that sometimes, dedication and perseverance really do pay off in the end. Kudos to Wollny for sticking it out!
His dedication to uncovering the truth about those mysterious organ works is truly inspiring 
He's been working on it for 35 years and finally got his breakthrough in 2023 
The fact that he didn't give up, even when others thought it was impossible, shows how passionate he is about music and history 
And can you imagine how exciting it must have been to find that one letter by Salomon Günther John that confirmed everything? 
This story is such a reminder that with hard work and perseverance, we can achieve anything we set our minds to 
... it's like, what drives us to uncover the truth? Is it just curiosity or is there somethin' deeper at play? He spent 35 years on this mystery and it felt like a personal quest for him, you know? Like he was searchin' for somethin' more than just answers.
. And Wollny's reaction to the breakthrough... humble and content... I love how he didn't celebrate or get too caught up in the excitement. He just knew his life-long quest was over.
i'm totally obsessed with the 7-bar ostinato bass motif - it sounds so hauntingly beautiful 
at least the dude who solved it was all about the mystery no drama just a humble grin when he finally got the proof i feel like we've seen more epic storylines on netflix 
i mean wollny is a genius tho, he never gave up on this mystery no matter how much ppl thought its impossible. AI might be able to help with some stuff but u can't replace human intuition & research like wollny had 
what's next gonna be discovered by someone else after years of work? 
! Interesting
. It's wild to think that those organ works could've been attributed to Bach himself, but I guess sometimes you gotta consider all the options 
. Wollny's perseverance is truly inspirin', and it's awesome that we get to learn about these lost musical treasures