Is a cor anglais the same as a horn?

The term cor anglais is French for English horn, but the instrument is neither from England nor related to the various conical-bore brass instruments called “horns”, such as the French horn, the natural horn, the post horn, or the tenor horn.

Why “English horn”?

Why “English” horn? The modern English horn was developed in around 1720, probably in Silesia, by adding a pear-shaped bell to the oboe da caccia. The oboe maker J. T. Weigel was evidently one of the first to make such a ”cor anglais”, as the instrument was known.

What is the English horn called in other countries?

In the UK the instrument is colloquially generally referred to as the “cor”. The local equivalent for “English horn” is used in most other European languages, while a few languages use their equivalent of “alto oboe”.

Who made the first English horn?

The modified version of Henri Brod’s instrument produced by François Lorée (1835–1902) remains the blueprint for the construction of English horns today.

What is an English horn?

The name “English Horn” is a translation of the French cor anglaiswhich is probably a corruption of cor anglé, meaning “angled horn”, referring to an early form of the instrument which was bent in the middle at an angle.

Is the cor anglais a transposing instrument?

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.

Why is the oboe called the English horn?

Because engellisch also meant English in the vernacular of the time, the “angelic horn” became the “English horn”. In the absence of any better alternative, the curved, bulb-belled tenor oboe then retained the name even after the oboe da caccia fell into disuse around 1760.