TOKYO, April 4 (UPI) -- Part of the missing Johann Sebastian Bach's "Wedding Cantata BWV 216" has been found in Japan in the estate of late pianist Chieko Hara.
The 1728 composition by Bach, missing for 80 years, is believed to have been transcribed by Bach's students.
The Japan Times reported that Professor Tadashi Isoyama of Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, who determined the authenticity of the work, said the original written in Bach's hand has never been found.
The eight pages of the work, brown with age but described by researchers as still in good condition, contain notes and lyrics for the soprano and alto parts.
The Kunitachi College of Music purchased the partial score.
It's believed that Hara's husband, the late Gaspar Cassado, of Spain, received the partial score from the family of German composer Felix Mendelssohn.
It's believed that the composition was owned by musicians and collectors before it reached Mendelssohn.
