F.Sor: 24 Leçons progressives Op.31, no.4, Andante | Claude Hyppolite Collin ca.1806 | Patrick Vena

I was extremely fortunate to borrow this Parisian treasure from the endlessly helpful master luthier, as well as my good friend Uwe Florath at his Guitar Salon in Helsinki.

This guitar was built by Claude Hyppolyte Collin (1766–1831), a French luthier trained in the Mirecourt instrument-making tradition, which produced generations of remarkable makers of violins, guitars, and bows. Born in Suippes, Collin trained in Mirecourt under the influence of the Vuillaume family workshop — connected to the same Mirecourt-to-Paris lineage that would later include Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. His workshop and shop in Paris were located at 7 Rue des Fossés Montmartre, near the Place des Victoires, where he worked making and selling guitars and other instruments from at least 1799 until his death in 1831.

Fernando Sor (1778–1839) had already lived in several European centers, including London and other parts of Central Europe, before finally settling in Paris in 1826, where he would remain for the rest of his life. As is well known, this period marked a shift in his focus toward teaching. He published his Op. 31 studies in 1828 and followed them with his influential Méthode pour la Guitare in 1830.

It is not known whether Sor ever met Collin or whether they had any interaction whatsoever. Still, I love the idea that this very instrument already existed in the same city when Sor returned there. Collin’s workshop in Paris must have been at least a somewhat active meeting place for guitarists and musicians, and these musicians — at least some of them — must have heard Sor playing or teaching.

Playing an instrument with such provenance is a rare privilege. You can feel the history in the wood and craftsmanship, and the legacy of a lineage that stretches from Mirecourt’s workshops through Paris’s golden age of lutherie. In this set of videos, I explore my favourite Leçons from Sor’s Op. 31 — the ones I never want to skip when playing through the opus.

Patrick Vena

With heartfelt thanks for the most generous help to Uwe, Antti, Rody, Jose, Amanda, Milla, and Juan.