Cor anglais

Cor anglais
Woodwind instrument
Classification
Hornbostel–Sachs classification422.112-71
(Double reed aerophone with keys)
Developedabout 1720 from the oboe da caccia
Playing range
Written pitch, notated in F, sounds a perfect fifth lower
Sounding pitch
Related instruments

The cor anglais (UK: /ˌkɔːr ˈɒŋɡl/, US: /- ɑːŋˈɡl/[1][2] or original French: [kɔʁ ɑ̃ɡlɛ];[3] plural: cors anglais), or English horn (in North American English) is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto oboe in F.

The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe (a C instrument). This means that music for the cor anglais is written a perfect fifth higher than the instrument sounds. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe, and oboists typically double on the cor anglais when required. The cor anglais normally lacks the lowest B key found on most oboes, and so its sounding range stretches from E3 (written B) below middle C to C6 two octaves above middle C.

  1. ^ Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, cor anglais, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 110
  2. ^ Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd edition, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p.185
  3. ^ cor anglais in the Oxford English Dictionary