De ce corn englez?

Why the English horn?

You will probably ask yourselves, children, why it is called the English horn when it is an instrument from the oboe's family. First of all, it was called English from an error of translation: instead of "angle", which in French means curved, it has been translated as "English". This term referred to the reed, that is, the part in which the instrumentalist blows, which instead of being straight as in the case of oboes, it is curved.

The English horn appeared in Germany towards the middle of the seventeenth century. It soon spread from its place of origin and reached France. There, those who have used it translated its name but, as I have already said, this translation was incorrect. And since we have mentioned the names given to it, I should tell you that in Italy it was called "corno angelico".

Yet, the aspect of this blowing instrument does not have anything to do with that brass horn that we all know. The name "horn" was rather given to it from an association with the sound of the hunting horn but it isn't known for sure if this is the real reason. As you can see, the English horn is straight, made of wood, at the lower part there is a bump, and at the upper part it has a slightly curved double reed.

What is a reed?

In order for a sound to be produced, some of the blowing instruments need a little piece of wood. This is the reed. In what regards the clarinet, the reed is simple, that is, a single one. At the oboe, English horn or bassoon the reed is double, that is, two tiny pieces placed face to face. The vibration is controlled by the instrumentalist'’s lips and it is produced by the column of air that passes through the two wooden pieces. They are fixed by a metallic support.

What does an English horn sound like?

If you pay attention, in their journey through Hector Berlioz's world, Pochettina, Tone Tinytone and Arietta reached a lawn at one time. It was the third movement of the Fantastic Symphony. You could hear there two instruments which were imitating a dialog between two shepherds. The first one was the English horn. The latter was the oboe. Generally, because of its specific sound, the English horn was loved by the composers. They created solos for this instrument, which in time became famous. In order to sustain this claim we have Hector Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony and Antonin Dvorak's ninth symphony From the New World.

Mr. Frederic Chopin had also used the specific sonority of the English horn in his Concert for Piano and Orchestra No.1 ,Op.11.

Translated by: Cristina Neculai
MA student, MTTLC, Bucharest University