Known also as the English horn, it is very much like the bass oboe in terms of sound and tone quality. Strangely, unlike its name, the English horn is neither a horn nor was it invented by the English.
It is an alto oboe with a conical tube and a pear-shaped bell. Its tone is nasal and melancholic, and it usually plays slow tunes.
RANGE
The cor anglais is played in treble clef. It is a transposing instrument which sounds a perfect 5th below the written score.
