 | |
| Woodwind instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 422.112-71 (Double reed aerophone with keys) |
| Developed | about 1720 from the oboe da caccia |
| Playing range | |
 Written pitch, notated in F, sounds a perfect fifth lower
 Sounding pitch | |
| Related instruments | |
| Part of a series on |
| Musical instruments |
|---|
The cor anglais (UK: /ˌkɔːr ˈɒŋɡleɪ/, US: /- ɑːŋˈɡleɪ/[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).[4] 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. Some versions being made today have a Low B♭ key to extend the range down one more note to sounding E♭3.
- ^ Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, cor anglais, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 110
- ^ Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd edition, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p.185
- ^ cor anglais in the Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ "This is how the oboe and the cor anglais differ".