Lost Bach Aria Found In Poetry Book

A lost aria by German composer JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH has been discovered at the back of a poetry book which was saved from a fire.

A researcher at Weimar's Anna Amalia Library in Germany unearthed the handwritten music while conducting an inventory after the blaze, which gutted the library last year (SEP04).

Experts claim the aria, written to accompany one of the poems, represents one of the few surviving pieces from Bach's early period.

Until the major classical find, it was believed the book, given to the DUKE OF WEIMAR by Bach as a birthday gift in 1713, only contained poetry written by a local poet.