English horn players?

[jaysne]

Just curious if there are any sax players here who regularly double on EH (aka cor anglais).

I've loved the EH ever since I heard one in grammar school. A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to get a good deal on an eBay instrument, and now I am practicing for an EH gig next month!

As much as I love sax, the EH is quite close to heaven for me.

[bpimentel]

Just curious if there are any sax players here who regularly double on EH (aka cor anglais).

One here!

[Chris Peryagh]

And another here.

It's the only reason why I took up playing oboe again!

I bought a Marigaux 930 cor which I felt was the best one of the lot I tried out when choosing one (compared to the Howarth S5, Loree and Rigoutat cors) - though I almost wish I waited a few months and gone for a Howarth XL cor - but I'm happy with this Marigaux cor and I'll definitely stick with it.

[woodwindNYC]

I am primarily a clarinet/English horn player. (former student of Tom Stacy). Great instrument, isn't it? It's probably my favorite of all the woodwinds.

(Oh, btw, this is my first post after lurking for a while! Great forum!)

[Erik713]

I just picked up a Howarth S20c on Thursday. I'd never played EH before (just oboe), and I am absolutely in love with the instrument! I love the sound, the ease of playing compared to oboe, and the expressiveness.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

[Chris Peryagh]

I've got three more S20c cors on my workbench as we speak! But these are all UK spec ones (dual system).

One thing I'd like to know - do you always call them 'English horns' or do you abbreviate this when speaking - and what do you abbreviate it to (if you do)? In the UK they're usually referred to as 'cor' or 'cors' colloquially (and oboe d'amore/d'amour is shortened to 'd'amore').

It's amazing what you can get away with on a cor reed-wise that you can't do on oboe - cors are a lot more forgiving if you have a duff reed.

[Erik713]

umm.... I know I abbreviate it when typing, but I've never heard anyone here in the states say anything other than "English horn." Funny how the English use the French name. It actually makes more sense as it IS a French instrument.

I HAVE heard folks here call the oboe d'amore a "d'amore" plenty of times.

[Chris Peryagh]

I'd just like to say, Erik, I'm glad you like your new toy!

Is it all wood or with a plastic top joint?

[Erik713]

All wood. No option for pastic without special order from my dealer. LOOOOOOOOVE it!!

[Chris Peryagh]

Play it in gently over the next few months, I know it's hard to resist the temptation of playing for hours on end, but you just have to bear with it during the 'playing in' period.

[The Hair]

English horn seems cool. I found out my school has one, its in good condition. I wanted to start playing it, I just have to find some reeds online. I've even learned the Oboe just to make the transition a bit smoother!

[SOTSDO]

The term "English" is actually a corruption of the original reference to the instrument, "angled", as early cor anglais had a bend in the middle instead of a crook out of the top. Like many other such word formations (i.e., "Welsh rarebit" for "Welsh rabbit", the final name was a corruption of the original term.

I like playing cor anglais, but am enough of a realist to know that there are a lot of full time player out there who can play circles around me. I learned it originally to cover a pit orchestra part ("Fugue For Three Tin Horns" in Guys And Dolls, and can still (just barely) manage the reed and embouchure, but haven't seriously picked one up in years.

Neat sound, and those who have heard the magic of the cor anglais performing The Swan Of Tuonela do not soon forget it.

[davidsherr]

Just curious if there are any sax players here who regularly double on EH (aka cor anglais).

I've loved the EH ever since I heard one in grammar school. A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to get a good deal on an eBay instrument, and now I am practicing for an EH gig next month!

As much as I love sax, the EH is quite close to heaven for me.

I play oboe/C.A and have recorded Luciano Berio's "Sequenza VII," a virtuoso oboe solo AND, "Sequenza I" (for solo flute) AND "Sequenza IXa" (solo clarinet). I play baritone oboe on the cd I am finishing up now on a piece I wrote that incorporates a Gregorian chant and the Machaut Notre Dame Mass. The Sequenzas are on a cd called Look Both Ways on the innova label. I also play alto on that cd and soprano on the new one.

[HershDawgSax]

Sax is my first instrument but English Horn is basically my second primary. I played it more last semester then the oboe majors did. My technique can still use plenty of work... but apparently my tone is good.

[AxelMario]

I'm a French, professional Oboe/EH player. I'm playing in an opera orchestra in Germany.
And saxophone is my hobby and my passion

[gdgreen]

Just curious if there are any sax players here who regularly double on EH (aka cor anglais).

I've loved the EH ever since I heard one in grammar school. A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to get a good deal on an eBay instrument, and now I am practicing for an EH gig next month!

As much as I love sax, the EH is quite close to heaven for me.

If you like the cor, you should try a heckelphone (http://www.contrabass.com/pages/heckel.html). A full octave below the oboe (and in C), range to low A, and a wider bore. Makes for a nice, robust timbre. :)

Grant

[woodwindNYC]

If only one could get their hands on one :-) They're not exactly floating around the shops...I've only played one twice, both while I was a student at Juilliard. It's quite an instrument, though! I'd LOVE to have one...a practically useless expenditure, but you never know when you're gonna get called to do Salomé or the Alpine Symphony!

[Chris Peryagh]

I thought the pricetag was very steep considering how they feel under the fingers, general build ad tone quality whereas a bass oboe is around a quarter of the price, and a tenor sax is even less still.

[woodwindNYC]

I don't quite know that I'd use a tenor sax in place of a Heckelphone, but a bass oboe would be a much more useful purchase, methinks. I'm saving my pennies for the Fossati bass...gorgeous instrument! (And they ONLY build them in cocobolo! :-P)

[danarsenault]

I rented a bassett horn from the president of the Heckelphone Society here. He says there have been 146 ever made. The BSO just bought a new one, I saw it laying open on the counter at Rayburns. I double on EH, but not often. I just finished 38 services of Sound of Music as woodwind the only outdoors. I had to keep oboe reeds happy for the solo at the end of each act in So Long, Farewell. Right about show 30 I figured out how to soak my reeds just enough and when. On to reed IV of Music Man.

[Paul Cohen]

The Conn-o-sax can be an effective, useful substitute for the english horn. With it I have recorded the Ewazen quintet for heckelphone or english horn and strings, and have often played Hampton's "Variation on Amazing Grace" with organ, as well as much mixed chamber music. The Conn-o-sax offers a rich, plaintive sound in all registers which bears some resemblence to the english horn ( on good days) and requires no transposition to read the parts.

Paul Cohen

[gdgreen]

The Conn-o-sax can be an effective, useful substitute for the english horn. With it I have recorded the Ewazen quintet for heckelphone or english horn and strings, and have often played Hampton's "Variation on Amazing Grace" with organ, as well as much mixed chamber music. The Conn-o-sax offers a rich, plaintive sound in all registers which bears some resemblence to the english horn ( on good days) and requires no transposition to read the parts.

Paul Cohen

A wonderful horn indeed :D

Isn't it even less common than the heckelphone?

Grant

[Cor Anglais]

To be fairly honest, I play oboe mostly for the English horn. It is simply the best instrument in existence.

I've wanted to get my hands on a heckelphone, too, but it's definitely out of reach at this point in my life.