Cor anglais

The cor anglais (UK: /ˌkɔːr ˈɒŋɡleɪ/, US: /ˌkɔːr ɑːŋˈɡleɪ/ or original French: [kɔʁ ɑ̃ɡlɛ]) or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe.

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 actually 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 natural) below middle C to C₆ two octaves above middle C.

Description and timbre

The pear-shaped bell of the cor anglais gives it a more covered timbre than the oboe, closer in tonal 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 tenor member of the family, and the oboe d'amore—pitched between the two in the key of A—as the alto member. The cor anglais is perceived to have a more mellow and 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. It is also much longer.