The cor anglais (, or original ;

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a

double-reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and c ...

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and r ...

in the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

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 A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...

pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the

(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.

Description and timbre

The pear-shaped bell (called Liebesfuß) of the cor anglais gives it a more covered

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...

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

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

member of the family, and the oboe d'amore—pitched between the two in the key of A—as the mezzo-soprano member.

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. H ...

, ''Anatomy of the Orchestra'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981): 143. (cloth); . The cor anglais is perceived to have a more mellow and plaintive tone than the oboe. The difference in sound results primarily from a wider reed and a

conical bore In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on t ...

that expands over a greater distance than the oboe's; although darker in tone and lower in pitch than the oboe, its sound is distinct from (though naturally blends with) the sound of the bassoon family. Its appearance differs from the oboe in that the instrument is notably longer, the reed is attached to a slightly bent metal tube called the bocal, or crook, and the bell has a bulbous shape (" Liebesfuß"). The cor anglais is usually notated in the treble

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitc ...

, a perfect fifth higher than sounding pitch, and several other options were employed. Alto clef written at sounding pitch is occasionally used, even by as late a composer as

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

. In late-18th- and early-19th-century Italy, where the instrument was often played by bassoonists instead of oboists, it was notated in the bass clef an octave below sounding pitch (as found in Rossini's Overture to ''William Tell''). French operatic composers up to

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

notated the instrument at sounding pitch in the mezzo-soprano clef, which enabled the player to read the part as if it were in the treble clef. Although the instrument usually descends only to (written) low B, continental instruments with an extension to low B (sounding E) have existed since early in the 19th century. Examples of works requiring this note (while acknowledging its exceptional nature) include Arnold Schoenberg's ''

Gurre-Lieder ' is a large cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen (translated from Danish to German by ). The title means "songs of Gurre", ref ...

'', Gustav Mahler's ''

Das Lied von der Erde ''Das Lied von der Erde'' ("The Song of the Earth") is an orchestral song cycle for two voices and orchestra written by Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. Described as a symphony when published, it comprises six songs for two singers who alte ...

'', Heitor Villa-Lobos's ''

Chôros No. 6 ''Chôros No. 6'' is an orchestral work written between 1925 and 1942 by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. It is part of a series of fourteen numbered compositions collectively titled ''Chôros'', ranging from solos for guitar and for ...

'', and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

's ''

Zeitmaße ''Zeitmaße'' (; German for "Time Measures") is a chamber-music work for five woodwinds (flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, and bassoon) composed in 1955–1956 by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen; it is Number 5 in the composer's catalog. ...

''. Antonín Dvořák, in his '' Scherzo capriccioso'', even writes for the cor anglais down to low A, though it seems unlikely that such an extension ever existed. Reeds used to play the cor anglais are similar to those used for an oboe, consisting of a piece of cane folded in two. While the cane on an oboe reed is mounted on a small metal tube (the staple) partially covered in cork, there is no such cork on a cor anglais reed, which fits directly on the bocal. The cane part of the reed is wider and longer than that of the oboe. Unlike American-style oboe reeds, cor anglais reeds typically have some wire at the base, approximately from the top of the string used to attach the cane to the staple. This wire serves to hold the two blades of cane together and stabilize tone and pitch. Perhaps the best-known makers of modern cors anglais are the French firms of

F. Lorée F. Lorée is a manufacturer of double reed musical instruments based in Paris, France. Lorée produces professional-level instruments in the oboe family under the brand ''F. Lorée'' and student-level oboes under the brand ''Cabart''. F. Lorée ...

Marigaux Marigaux, also known as SML (Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire) is a French manufacturer of high quality woodwind musical instruments. Marigaux is considered one of the world's best oboe-makers. The company has made a line of woodwinds that has also inc ...

, and Rigoutat, the British firm of T. W. Howarth, and the American firm

Fox Products Hugo Fox (February 2, 1897 in South Whitley, Indiana – December 29, 1969 in South Whitley, Indiana) was an American classical bassoonist. He also designed and manufactured bassoons and oboes. Fox studied the bassoon with Adolph Weiss, a mem ...

. Instruments from smaller makers, such as

A. Laubin A. Laubin, Inc. is an American maker of oboes and English horns, located in Peekskill, New York. The first Laubin oboe was made in 1931 by Alfred Laubin, a performing musician who was dissatisfied with the quality of instruments available at ...

, are also sought after. Instruments are usually made from

African blackwood ''Dalbergia melanoxylon'' (African blackwood, grenadilla, or mpingo) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The ...

( aka Grenadilla), although some makers offer instruments in a choice of alternative woods as well, such as

cocobolo Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of Central American trees belonging to the genus '' Dalbergia''. Only the heartwood of cocobolo is used; it is usually orange or reddish-brown, often with darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The hear ...

(Howarth) or violet wood (Lorée), which are said to alter the voice of the cor anglais slightly, producing a more mellow sound. Fox has recently made some instruments in plastic resin and maple, the latter being the wood traditionally used for bassoons.

History and etymology

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 French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

, the

natural horn The natural horn is a musical instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day (French) horn (differentiated by its lack of valves). Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century the natural horn evolved as a separation from the trump ...

, the

post horn The post horn (''also'' post-horn) is a valveless cylindrical brass instrument with a cupped mouthpiece. The instrument was used to signal the arrival or departure of a post rider or mail coach. It was used especially by postilions of the 18 ...

, or the

tenor horn The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...

. The instrument originated in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

about 1720 when a bulb bell was fitted to a curved ''

oboe da caccia The oboe da caccia (; literally "hunting oboe" in Italian), also sometimes referred to as an oboe da silva, is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of Europe ...

''-type body by the Weigel family of Breslau. The two-keyed, open-belled, straight tenor oboe (French '' taille de hautbois'', "tenor oboe"), and more particularly the flare-belled ''oboe da caccia'', resembled the horns played by angels in religious images of the Middle Ages. This gave rise in German-speaking central Europe to the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

name ''engellisches Horn'', meaning ''angelic 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.Michael Finkelman, "Oboe: III. Larger and Smaller European Oboes, 4. Tenor Oboes, (iv) English Horn", ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001); also a
Grove Music Online
(Subscription access). The name first appeared regularly in Italian, German, and Austrian scores from 1749 on, usually in the Italian form ''corno inglese.'' The earliest known orchestral part specifically for the instrument is in the Vienna version of Niccolò Jommelli's opera ''Ezio'' dating from 1749, where it was given the Italian name ''corno inglese''.

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

followed suit in the 1750s,Michael Finkelman
"Die Oboeinstrumente in tieferer Stimmlage – Teil 5: Das Englischhorn in der Klassik"
in ''

Tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

'' 99 (1999): 618–24. and the first

English horn concerto A number of concertos and concertante works have been written for cor anglais, cor anglais (English horn) and string, wind, chamber, or full orchestra. English horn concertos appeared about a century later than oboe solo pieces, mostly because unt ...

s were written in the 1770s. The Schwarzenberg Wind Harmonie of 1771 employed 2 cors anglais as well as 2 oboes, 2 bassoons and 2 horns. Johan Went was first cor anglais and Ignaz Teimer (father of the Teimer brothers) was second cor anglais. The first oboe trios were composed by Johan Went for the Teimer brothers. The oboe and cor anglais writing in these original Bohemian/Viennese trios by Johan Went and Joseph Triebensee are notable as written by oboists for oboists and include some early examples of florid virtuosic writing for the cor anglais, paving the way for similar writing to come. In 1796 Johann and Franz Teimer died. The first recorded performance of an oboe trio was 1793 (which Beethoven attended). While the Teimer brothers performed in Vienna and environs, over 20 oboe trios were composed. Phillip Teimer continued to play the cor anglais in Schikaneder's opera house in Vienna. He also sang some roles with the company due to his sonorous bass voice. Many cor anglais parts were specially written for him by Stengel, Süssmayr, Paer, Winter, Weigl, Eberl, Eybler, Salieri, Hummel, Schacht and Fisher. Considering the name "cor anglais", it is ironic that the instrument was not regularly used in France before about 1800 or in England before the 1830s. It is mentioned in the Penny Cyclopedia from 1838 as "The English Horn, or Corno Inglese, is a deeper-toned oboe .., while the first identified printed use of the term ''cor anglais'' in English was in 1870. 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". Due to the earlier bowed or angular forms it took, the suggestion has been made that ''anglais'' might be a corruption of

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from ...

''anglé'' (angular, or bent at an angle, ''angulaire'' in modern French), but this has been rejected on grounds that there is no evidence of the term ''cor anglé'' before it was offered as a possible origin of ''anglais'' in the late 19th century. Adam Carse, ''Musical Wind Instruments: A History of the Wind Instruments Used in European Orchestras and Wind-Bands from the Later Middle Ages Up to the Present Time '' (London: Macmillan and Co., 1939): 143; Sybil Marcuse, "Cor anglais", in ''Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary'', revised edition, The Norton Library (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975). .

Repertoire

Concertos and concertante

Until the 20th century, there were few solo pieces for the instrument with a large ensemble (such as

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

or concert band). Important examples of such concertos and concertante works are: *

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Life and music William Alwyn was born William Alwyn Smith in Northampton, the son of Ada Tyler (Tompkins ...

's ''Autumn Legend'' for English horn and string orchestra (1954) * Emmanuel Chabrier's ''Lamento'' for English horn and orchestra (1875) *

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's '' Quiet City'' for trumpet, English horn, and string orchestra (1940) † *

Miguel del Aguila --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disa ...

, ''Broken Rondo'' for solo English horn and orchestra * Gaetano Donizetti's Concertino in G major (1816) *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

's '' Concerto da camera'' for flute, English horn and string orchestra (1948) *

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

's Rhapsody for English horn and strings (1948) *

Aaron Jay Kernis Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning American composer serving as a member of the Yale School of Music faculty. Kernis spent 15 years as the music advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and as Dir ...

' ''Colored Field'' (1994) *

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

's ''The World's Ransoming'', for obbligato English horn and orchestra (1995–96), part of the orchestral triptych ''Triduum'' (1995–97) † *

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

's Fantasy for English horn, harp and string orchestra (1952) *

Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althoug ...

's Concerto for English horn and orchestra (1992) *

Peter Seabourne Peter Seabourne (born 1960) is an English contemporary classical composer based in Lincolnshire, England. Biography Seabourne studied at Clare College, Cambridge with Robin Holloway, and University of York with David Blake. In 1984 he was jo ...

's Concerto for English horn and orchestra (2013) *

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

' ''

The Swan of Tuonela ''The Swan of Tuonela'' (') is an 1895 tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is part of the '' (Four Legends from the Kalevala)'', Op. 22, based on the Finnish mythological epic the ''Kalevala''. ''The Swan of Tuonela'' was orig ...

'' (1893) † *

Jack Stamp Jack Stamp (born March 5, 1954 in College Park, Maryland) is a North American wind ensemble conductor and composer. He has approximately sixty compositions available from Neil A. Kjos Music Company, including his most well-known piece, Gavorkn ...

's ''Elegy for English horn and Band'' (2004) *

Pēteris Vasks Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer. Biography Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player wi ...

' Concerto for English horn and orchestra (1989) *

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as '' Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays ...

's Concertino in A, op. 34 (1947) † Though concertante in nature, these are just orchestral works featuring extensive solos, with the player seated within the orchestra

Chamber music

Better known chamber music for English horn includes: *

Johan Went Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Petite Serenade Concertante in F major c.(1790) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Divertimento in Bb major c.(1790) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Variations on a Theme by Paisiello c.(1790) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Variations on a Theme by Haydn c.(1790) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Pas de Deux in C major de Signore e Signora Vigano c.(1790) *

Franz Krommer Franz Krommer ( cz, František Vincenc Kramář; 27 November 1759 in Kamenice u Jihlavy – 8 January 1831 in Vienna) was a Czech composer of classical music and violinist. He was one of the most popular composers in the 19th century Vienna. ...

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in F major c.(1794) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Variations on a Theme by Pleyel c.(1794–6) *

Anton Wranitsky Anton may refer to: People * Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Anton (surname) Places * Anton Municipality, Bulgaria ** Anton, Sofia Province, a village * Antón District, Panama ** Antón, a town and capital ...

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in C major c.(1794–6) * Franz Poessinger's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in F major c.(1794–6) *

Josef Triebensee Josef Triebensee (Trübensee) (November 21, 1772 Třeboň - April 22, 1846 Prague) was a Bohemian composer and oboist. He studied composition with Albrechtsberger and oboe with his father, Georg Triebensee (January 28, 1746-June 14, 1813). He s ...

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in F major c.(1794–6) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in C major c.(1794–6) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Trio in Bb major c.(1794–6) *

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Variations on a Theme by Haydn c.(1794–6) *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Op. 87 (1795) *Ludwig van Beethoven's ''Variations on "Là ci darem la mano"'', for 2 oboes and English horn, WoO 28 (1796) *

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best rem ...

's Andante arioso, Andante and Adagio for wind quintet with featured cor anglais (1817-9) *

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

's ''Pastoral'' for English horn and piano (1940) *

Felix Draeseke Felix August Bernhard Draeseke (7 October 1835 – 26 February 1913) was a composer of the "New German School" admiring Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. He wrote compositions in most forms including eight operas and stage works, four symphonies, ...

's "Kleine Suite" for English horn and piano, Op. 87 (1911) *

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

's 'The Curlew' for singer, flute, cor anglais and string quartet (1920–22) *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

's Sonata for English Horn and Piano (1941) * Charles Koechlin's ''Monody for English Horn'', Op. 216, Nr. 11 (1947–48) *

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

's ''Parable XV for Solo English Horn'' *

's ''

'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, English horn and bassoon (1955–56) * Igor Stravinsky's ''

Pastorale Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood. In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the tradi ...

'' for soprano and piano (1907), in the composer's arrangements for soprano, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1923), and violin, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1933) *

Augusta Read Thomas Augusta Read Thomas (born April 24, 1964) is an American composer and professor. Biography Thomas studied composition with Oliver Knussen at Tanglewood; Jacob Druckman at Yale University; Alan Stout and Bill Karlins at Northwestern University ...

's ''Pilgrim Soul'' for cor anglais and two violins (2011) * Heitor Villa-Lobos' '' Quinteto (em forma de chôros)'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, English horn and bassoon (1928) *

Carlo Yvon Carlo Yvon (29 April 1798 in Milan – 23 December 1854 in Milan) was an Italian composer, virtuoso oboist and English horn player, and music educator. He studied at the Milan Conservatory in his native city and later was a teacher at that scho ...

's Sonata in F minor for English Horn (or Viola) and Piano (published ca. 1831), one of the few sonatas written during the

Romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

for this combination.

Solos in orchestral works

The English horn's timbre makes it well suited to the performance of expressive, melancholic solos in

l works (including

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s) as well as operas. Famous examples are: Dv CA extrait

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

's ''Il Pirata'' (Act II: Introduzione) (1827) * Hector Berlioz's ''

Harold in Italy ''Harold en Italie,'' ''symphonie avec un alto principal'' (English: ''Harold in Italy,'' ''symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript calls and describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus 16, H. 68, wr ...

'' (1834) *Hector Berlioz's '' Rob Roy Overture'' (1826) *Hector Berlioz's '' Roman Carnival Overture'' (1844) *Hector Berlioz's '' Symphonie fantastique'' (third movement) (1830) * Alexander Borodin's ''

In the Steppes of Central Asia ''In the Steppes of Central Asia'' (Russian: В средней Азии, Romanization: V ''srednyeĭ Azii'', literally "In Central Asia") is a symphonic poem (or "musical tableau") composed by Alexander Borodin in 1880, which he dedicated to ...

'' (1880) *Alexander Borodin's "

Polovetsian Dances The Polovtsian Dances, or Polovetsian Dances ( rus, Половецкие пляски, Polovetskie plyaski from the Russian "Polovtsy"—the name given to the Kipchaks and Cumans by the Rus' people) form an exotic scene at the end of act 2 of Al ...

" from ''Prince Igor'' (1890) * Emmanuel Chabrier's "Lamento" for orchestra (1875) * Claude Debussy's ''

Nocturnes A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

'' (1899) ("Nuages") *

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

's '' Florida Suite'' (1887) * Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 (1893), ''From the New World'' (Largo) *

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

's Symphony in D minor (1888) (2nd movement) * Alexander Glazunov's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (1893) (1st movement) *

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Symphony No. 22, "The Philosopher" (1764) (two English horns) *Joseph Haydn's Divertimento in F, for two violins, two English horns, two horns & two bassoons Hob. II: 6 (1760) *

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

's ''

Symphony on a French Mountain Air The Symphony on a French Mountain Air (french: Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français ), Op. 25, is written in 1886 by Vincent d'Indy. As indicated by the title, d'Indy took the principal theme from a folk song he heard at Périer overlooki ...

'' (1886) *

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

's ''Summer Evening'' (1906) * Gustav Mahler's ''Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen'' from ''

Rückert-Lieder ' (Songs after Rückert) is a collection of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were first published in ''Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit'' (''Seven Songs of Latter ...

'' (1901), ''Wenn dein Mütterlein'' from ''

Kindertotenlieder (''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. Text and music The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833� ...

'' (1905) * Jules Massenet's ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Castro ...

'' Ballet Suite (Madrilène) (1885) * Olivier Messiaen's '' L'ascension'' (1932–33) (2nd movement) *

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding independ ...

's ''Phoenix Rising'' (1997) *

Basil Poledouris Basil Konstantine Poledouris (; August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors John Milius and Paul Verho ...

's ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' score – "Riddle of Steel" (1982) * Amilcare Ponchielli's ''Voce di donna'' from '' La Gioconda'' *

Gaetano Pugnani Gaetano Pugnani (27 November 1731 – 15 July 1798, full name: Giulio Gaetano Gerolamo Pugnani) was an Italian composer and violinist. Biography Gaetano Pugnani was born in 1731 in Turin, the city where he spent most of his life, son of Giova ...

's ''Werther'' Melodrama in Two Parts, (Part II No. 21 Largo assai) (1790) * Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (1940) *Sergei Rachmaninoff's '' The Bells'' (1913) (4th movement) * Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G (1931) (2nd movement) *Maurice Ravel's

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...

'' (1912) *Maurice Ravel's ''

Rapsodie espagnole ''Rapsodie espagnole'' is an orchestral rhapsody written by Maurice Ravel. Composed between 1907 and 1908, the ''Rapsodie'' is one of Ravel's first major works for orchestra. It was first performed in Paris in 1908 and quickly entered the intern ...

'' (1908) *

Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was an American neoclassical composer, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a ...

's '' Russian Christmas Music'' (1944) * Ottorino Respighi's '' Fontane di Roma'' (1918) *Ottorino Respighi's ''

Pini di Roma Pini may refer to: People Surname *Anthony Pini (Carlos Antonio Pini; 1902–1989), Argentinian cellist, soloist, orchestral section leader and chamber musician *Antonio Pini-Corsi (1858(?)–1918), Italian operatic baritone * Carolina Pini (1 ...

'' (1924) *Ottorino Respighi's ''Lauda per la Natività del Signore'' (1930) * Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's '' Capriccio Espagnol'' (1887) (2nd movement) *Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' de ...

'' Op. 35 (1888) *

Joaquín Rodrigo Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the '' Concierto de Aranjuez'', a cornerstone of the classical gu ...

's ''

Concierto de Aranjuez The ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (, "Aranjuez Concerto") is a classical guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the mos ...

'' (1939) (2nd movement) *

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

's ''

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

'' (1829) * Howard Shore's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (film score) *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

's Symphony No. 4 in C minor (1936) (1st movement) *Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 in B minor (1939) (1st movement) *Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1943) (1st movement) *Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 in E minor (1953) (3rd movement) *Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 in G minor (1957) (4th movement) *

' ''

Karelia Suite ''Karelia Suite'', Op. 11 is a subset of pieces from the longer ''Karelia Music'' (named after the region of Karelia) written by Jean Sibelius in 1893 for the Viipuri Students' Association and premiered, with Sibelius conducting, at the Imper ...

'' (1893) and Pelléas et Mélisande (1905) * Robert W. Smith's Symphony No. 2 "The Odyssey" (3rd movement, "The Isle of Calypso") * Richard Strauss' ''

Ein Heldenleben ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be au ...

'' (1898) * Igor Stravinsky's ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'' (1913) Mainly in the Intro to Part I and the next-to-last dance in Part II, ''Ritual Action of the Ancestors'' *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture ''Romeo and Juliet'', TH 42, ČW 39, is an orchestral work composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is styled an ''Overture-Fantasy'', and is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Like other composers such as Berlioz and Prokofiev, ...

'' (1870) (Love Theme, Exposition) *Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

'' (1892) * Ralph Vaughan Williams' '' In the Fen Country'' (1904) *Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 2 '' A London Symphony'' (2nd movement) *Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5 in D major (1943) (3rd movement) *Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 6 in E minor (1946–47) (2nd movement) *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'' (1859) (Act 3, Scene 1) * Ennio Morricone's ''

The Ecstasy of Gold "The Ecstasy of Gold" ( it, L'estasi dell'oro) is a musical composition by Ennio Morricone, part of his score for the 1966 Sergio Leone film ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. It is played while Tuco (Eli Wallach) is frantically searching a ce ...

'' (1966) * John Williams' ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a youn ...

'' (film score) (2001) *John Williams' ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...

'' (film score) (1993)

Unaccompanied

* Andriessen, Hendrik, Elegia (1967) * Auerbach, Lera, The Prayer * Bancquart, A., Sonatine *Bentzon, J., Rhapsodique Etude, Op. 10 * Berkeley, Michael, ''Snake'' (1990) *Brandon, J., In the City at Night * Caldini, F., Abendstück, Op. 12 *Caldini, F., Aria di Eliogabalo, Op. 18 *Cantalbiano, R., Sonata *Carbon, J., Four Impromptus * Carter, E., A 6-letter Letter *Cherney, B., Epitaph * Childs, Barney, ''Four Involutions'' *Dagher, Abdo, The New Egyptian-Arabic *Davies, Ken, Dark River *Douglas, Paul Marshall, Luquet * Downey, John W., Soliloquy *Filippi, A., Equations * Hall, Juliana, A Certain Tune *Head, Raymond, No Nights are Dark Enough *Isaacson, M., A Quiet Prayer * Koechlin, Charles, ''Monodie'' *Koechlin, Charles, Suite *Lawrence, Echoes in Wilderness * Persichetti, Vincent, ''Parable XV'' *Pfiffner, Miniature d'Umbria I *Rudin, R., Recitativ und Arie *Silvestrini, Paysage avec Pyrame eet Thisbe *Tomasi, H., Evocations *Turok, P., Partita

References

External links

English horn fingering guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cor Anglais F instruments Oboes Single oboes with conical bore Orchestral instruments Concert band instruments