Explore the English Horn. The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a fifth lower than the oboe a C instrument , and is consequently approximately one-third longer. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe.
Its sounding range stretches from the E or, rarely, E flat below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C. Its pear-shaped bell gives it a somewhat more nasal, covered timbre than that of the oboe, being closer in tone quality to the oboe d'amore. Whereas the oboe is the soprano instrument of the oboe family, the cor anglais is generally regarded as the alto member of the family, and the oboe d'amore, pitched between the two in the key of A, is the mezzo-soprano member. It is perceived to have a more mellow and more plaintive tone than the oboe.
Its appearance differs from the oboe in that the reed is attached to a slightly bent metal tube called the bocal, or crook, and the bell has a bulbous shape. More About the English Horn. Reeds used to play the cor anglais are similar to those used for an oboe, comprising a piece of cane folded in two. Although the instrument itself is longer, a cor anglais reed is shorter than that of an oboe reed, and also slightly wider.
Where the cane on an oboe reed is connected to a small metal tube the staple partially covered in cork, there is no such cork on a cor anglais reed, which fits metal against metal onto the bocal, in a manner not dissimilar to the bassoon. Etymology The term "cor anglais" literally means "English horn", but the cor anglais is neither English nor a horn. The cor anglais and the oboe da caccia are otherwise quite unlike, however, and there is no clear connection between them.
It has alternatively been suggested that the name of "anglehorn" developed as a reference to the the English horn bocal, a part which is not present in most of the smaller members of the oboe family.
