Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin - Characteristics of His Instruments and Craftsmanship

Characteristics of His Instruments and Craftsmanship

Like the best French luthiers, his designs followed in the tradition of the famous Italian schools Stradivarius, Guarnerius, and Amati, although he developed his own unique varnish.

• varnish tends to be thick and dull, ranging in colour from yellow to brownish yellow
• they typically have a black outline along the edges of the body and scroll
• no artificial process of heating or chemically treating the wood
• constructed of old wood that was dried naturally
• the bass barring (as well as other aspects) adjusted according to the age and type of wood he used
• his best work is approximately from 1875–1910

His instruments are also characterized by a powerful and unusually brilliant tone, but also possess a harshness. Musical historian William Henley, in his Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers (1959), suggests that this harshness could be eliminated with "many years of strenuous playing," which would then certainly enable the instrument to be played by an active soloist.

Henley records “Benjamin Godard's Concerto Romantique was first performed at a Pasedeloup Concert, Paris, 1876, by Marie Tayau on a Collin-Mezin violin with (what was then an innovation) E and A steel strings suggested by the maker, which rather points to the fact that he is attempting to get brilliance and clearness at the expense of purity." Steel strings are more popular today, though they tend to be used more by students. (More advanced players and professionals prefer synthetic or gut core strings wound with metal, and an all-metal E string.)