Instrument: Cor Anglais

[@VanessaHolguin]

Aww, I love her personality; good sense of humor.

[@Xingqiwu387]

Me, too! She is so charming. And what an excellent explanation and presentation.

[@Piobagusfidil]

One needs a sense of humor to deal with double reeds...they are BASTARDS! LOL

[@phthartic]

When I played in wind ensembles in my youth I knew that one COULD make their own reeds. Single reeds looked easy enough to make (like for clarinets or saxes) and I knew some players that bragged of making their own. But double reeds looked like they would be far too hard for a player to make. I assumed they were made by professionals using precision tools and materials. I always wondered how expensive they would be and felt sorry for reed players since we brass players would have a pretty hard time wearing out our lips, whereas reed players went through reeds like crazy. But both the Oboist and English Hornist mentioned that they always make their own, and when they do, a high proportion of them are rejects that don’t even work at all, and surely some that work must not work as well as others. I can’t believe it’s just arrogance that makes the players think they’re better at making reeds than professionals, so premade reeds must REALLY be expensive.

[@phthartic]

An obscure word originally chosen as a character name in an online game. Not my first choice, but it was amazing how many words in ‘Mrs Byrnes Dictionary’ had already been taken.

[@pookievanderbilt6889]

Her personality is so sweet and she’s adorable:)

[@starshkr46]

This lady has a lovely voice.

[@shawnkim7276]

I need her to voice an audiobook

[@spacep0d]

Not a fry tone can be heard-probably because she's older and never learned to creak for false gravitas or ingroup cohesion.

[@DIVISIONBYZEROE]

oi. I'm Bri'ish

[@josiesequins4962]

What a gorgeous sound. Also, I would love to have had her as a music teacher, she seems like a lot of fun.

[@mmuussiiccooppaattaa]

What a clear and funny way to explain this instrument! Good job and thanks!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you Rodrigo, great to hear you enjoyed it!

[@2Jeffrey]

xd

[@kimk7163]

She actually talks as though she is there with you the rest talk as though they are held at gunpoint

[@N.Nocturne]

LOL I chortled! The cellist and clarinetist are fine tho

[@fs10inator]

Going through your instrument guides is, to me, like going through videos of How It's Made... just can't get enough!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

+FS10inator Thanks for watching! We will at some point make more instrument films, so keep checking this channel!

[@rzeka]

Same!

[@branflakes2600]

If only they had baroque instrument guides...

[@branflakes2600]

I want to watch more but I can't. Make more guides. I know you can't do much with modern instruments because you've already reviewed them, but why not old instruments like those of the baroque period?

[@timpy1887]

Philharmonia Orchestra (London, UK) Just a suggestion: I saw your app and I'd like to see an instrument demonstration for the Contrabass Clarinet. I thought it would be cool if we could have listen to what it can play and how you play it.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

She is exceptionally talented at her craft and quite an engaging speaker too. Best interview so far.

[@TheBrianWashed]

She was so funny and awesome. Her sound is beautifullllll

[@zookzook1968]

Yes, I think Jill may be so charming, and also she always tries to make effort to sophisticate her sounds.

[@JohnStephenDwyer]

I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cor anglais.

[@Scotttyist]

Man, you're Totally Hard Cor!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@Scotttyist That is actually a true Alto Oboe

[@donaldlamkin1305]

Lol!

[@brandonskelton]

I love the sound of this beautiful instrument. I'm so glad I found this series! I'm going to watch all of them now!

[@MasonToday]

This woman's voice is amazing. I wish she was my grandma

[@stitchyduck]

and look at his profile pic

[@Muzikman127]

how young is your grandma?? haha

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Cor anglais/English Horn fans - what is your favourite solo (orchestral or otherwise) for this wonderful instrument?

[@BarnabyBeahan]

Dvoraks's New World Symphony 2 movement of course!:)

[@MattMinecraft4]

Philharmonia Orchestra (London, UK) "Infernal Dance" from "The Firebird", Dvorak's "From the New World", and the Scherzo from "Concerto for Orchestra"

[@gustaveportelance4490]

MattMKZbin not at all........best work of all is The Swan of Tuonela of Sibelius

[@MattMinecraft4]

Gustave Portelance I was listing my favourites . . .

[@MasterCool6]

I the first movement of Rachmaninov's 4th piano concerto...

[@brucescott3718]

Very soulful instrument and a very effective and humorous teaching technique.

[@homeofcreation]

By this series you can tell how much fun it is to play a musical instrument. I've played the flute and Oboe for over 40 years and must say there is no better way to relief stress and get in sync with yourself. And to allow yourself to experience different emotions, depending on the piece you are studying/performing.

[@cameronmcgill5382]

wow, she has such a good sound on the cor anglais

[@Geblues10]

So love the way she explains it. Kept it light and breezy.

[@InstrumentManiac]

"We all have to make these... which is a PAIN" I nearly fell off my chair laughing! You should do oboe stand up Jill!

[@NicholasWingComposer]

The English horn can achieve such melancholic depths of tone, and Ms. Crowther's characterization of the sound is spot on. I might add that it has the transcendent soaring quality of the oboe, and yet also has a subtle wine barrel roundness and depth of timbre that is unlike any other orchestral instrument. It is utterly beautiful and in my opinion is only surpassed by the cello in terms of conveying melancholy and human emotion.

[@LAUENEN49]

Vous êtes formidable, expressive, sympathique, pédagogue et évidemment très talentueuse. UN GRAND MERCI POUR CE MOMENT DE MUSIQUE ET DE FRAICHEUR.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Et merci a vous pour passer du temps sur notre chaîne!

[@amytoh123]

Mind my ignorance, but is this the same instrument that is prominently heard in Schindler's list, after the violin?

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Jerometky Absolutely correct!

[@amytoh123]

thank you!

[@mtv565]

It's strange that modern technology can machine-make and mass-produce clarinet and saxophone reeds with varying hardness, yet for oboe, cor anglais and bassoon players they have to manually make their own reeds?

[@Hairmetallurgist]

There are commercial makers of oboe, cor anglais and bassoon reeds, however, they are usually merely adequate for producing a sound, whereas, most double reed players can custom-make their reeds to get the optimal sound and ease of play.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

Advanced clarinet and saxophone players sometimes will make their own reeds too, but they often buy premade reeds and customize them.

[@zorakj]

A single reed (such as for saxophone and clarinet) is a single piece. A double reed (oboe, bassoon) is a single piece of cane, tied to a tube called a staple, then scraped on with a knife, the the tip is cut off, and then more scraping is done. There’s just more pieces to work with.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

@@zorakj It's true that double reed players typically assemble and cut their own reeds. Proficient single reed players typically buy reeds and customize them to their own style. In general, reeds are a very personal thing.

[@zorakj]

Leslie Franklin So true. I was trying to explain to mmm why mass production has better success in single reeds than double. All in all I’m glad I’m playing brass for now. Except that classes are online for the rest of the school year...

[@nigelbellamy7105]

An excellent presentation from my A level Music classmate! Thank you, Jill.

[@slateflash]

Can we have more of this lady please she is hilarious

[@MajorBrass]

This series changed my entire life. For the better. I absolutely love you guys

[@Unitos_]

She's at least in my top three from all these videos, she's a grand lady - funny and interesting commentary.

[@georgelastrapes9259]

My favorite passage for cor anglais is in mvt. 4 of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Intermezzo interotto, where it takes up the lush string melody (canon at the fifth) though it is obscured by other voices. In most performances it is inaudible; but in Bernstein's performance of circa 1960 (so dear to my heart), it is audible, beautiful; and more conductors should follow his example.

[@macintosh315]

@Elaine Goodall, start with Oboe. You will need to learn all the basics and fundamentals of Oboe before you can even make a sound on Cor Anglais! Starting on auxiliary instruments can make you develop terrible habits! Start on oboe, and when you're advanced enough (your teacher can tell you), you can start playing Cor Anglais. Just remember, if you will always have to play both; there is no such thing as switching to Cor Anglais, because almost all Cor Anglais parts in the orchestra require you to switch between Cor Anglais and oboe.

[@Ganaha_Celosia_Priskos]

That's exactly what I did.

[@tom_something]

Having watched, I think, all of the videos in Philharmonia Orchestra's "Instrument Guides" playlist, I think Jill Crowther is the most animated and honest musician featured. She also perfectly lays out the reasons why, when I recently took an interest in the woodwind family, I landed on the clarinet. I say what I'm going to say with absolutely no malice toward double-reed instruments nor the people who choose to play them. I happen to think the oboe, bassoon, and cor anglais have beautiful, essential sounds. 1. You have to prepare your own reeds, and it takes time. 2. The double-reeds can be very temperamental. 3. If you play a double-reed instrument, there's a good chance you'll be assigned a solo. They just have a habit of standing out like that. OK, maybe if you're playing the bassoon, you'll have a definitely-hearable but not leading role laying a sort of baseline for the melody. But to anyone else: good luck trying to stay out of the spotlight. Starting out in the "breathing is how you play the instrument" world, I'm not looking for a whole lot of attention or responsibility. Because I also happen to use my breathing to stay alive and stuff, so it's a balance. And I think it's easier to hide in the background on clarinet. Especially because there's often more than one of those, even in a modest ensemble, so let the more ambitious one get the fancy parts. It's a challenging but important instrument. Not for me, at this particular moment in time.

[@실대촬실수하는대로촬]

Thank you for this lengthy essay!

[@tom_something]

@@실대촬실수하는대로촬 No one has ever said that to me before. The "lengthy essay" part, absolutely, I get that all the time. The "thank you for the"... that's new. You alright?

[@HighTen_Melanie]

Amazing! Your playing is out of this world! It made me cry. I'm teaching myself the oboe and this is a fascinating insight into the oboe family. I can't imagine the cost of a cor anglais? Wonderful film. Happy playing.

[@hautbois123]

Jill; I am an oboist here in the US. I got a copy of your CD english oboe concertos when I was about 12 and still to this day its my favorite Oboe CD!!!! (I own about 3 full boxes of CDs!!!! The overwhelming expression, fullness of tone, and absolute fearlessness is inspiring for me to this day almost 15 years later. Any oboe nerds who fall across this video of Jill, don't walk... RUN and listen to "English Oboe Concertos" with Jill Crowther as soloist. Best oboe CD I own out of hundreds. She represents the rawness and fragility of the instrument in its absolute best light without over-refining the oboe tone into something its not. This is the oboe sound i'm sure the great composers dreamed about while writing their music.

[@janiscortese]

Fascinating -- and that app looks FANTASTIC!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you so much!

[@ramtinbiniaz]

This video and the Cello were the bests up to now for me I really liked them

[@lewisedmundscomposer]

I could listen to her all day! Great video, and a fabulous player with a fantastic personality!

[@QuyloonReeseQTMS]

This was a very interesting video. Thank you for your knowledge, your radiating joy, and your personality that keeps music fun for all! -From members of the Quyloon's Tutoring/Teaching & Mentoring Services Network (Q.T.M.S.N.)

[@tuana387]

my birthday wish: to have her as my music teacher😁

[@KegPatcha]

Jill. Your voice is a lovely instrument also.

[@creamofthecrop4339]

love the personality of this woman!

[@Baiko]

This was the first one I watched from the series, found it accidentally when I tried to find what English Horn sounds like. Now I'm back here in the process of watching the whole series.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Baiko Wonderful! Enjoy!

[@tonyrseals7109]

And to English horn is the cor anglais

[@RayMainBagpiper]

I had never heard of this instrument until seeing this video, very nice.

[@sherinem97]

Me too , the sound was amazing.

[@gustaveportelance4490]

Sherine Kong Its simply an alto oboe tuned in F

[@corneliotiul9094]

Ray Main un

[@corneliotiul9094]

Liganas

[@corneliotiul9094]

Cornelio

[@alolana]

I LOVE THIS INSTRUMENT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH my school took a field trip to an orchestra and it showcased the english horn and i absolutely fell i LOVE. (i played clarinet at the time) i talked to my band teacher (who's my favorite teacher of all time btw) and she said theres no english horn in our band but the closest thing is oboe so i took up oboe and i still play it today and someday i aspire to learn english horn

[@SandrineAnterrion]

Gorgeous instrument thanks for uploads

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

So glad I found this video. Thanks for posting.

[@rche9131]

Le Cor anglé. Explications très intéressantes, merci...

[@jsnadrian]

I clicked on this, quite dis-interestedly after hearing someone mention the Cor Anglais -- but Jill had me hooked. What an awesome video!

[@LeelastMardina]

haha! Love her humour while pointing the harsh reality of being a double reed players face. every. single . time.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Philharmonia Orchestra (London, UK) It's not really a Horn but it's actually an F Alto Oboe.

[@victorparedes6887]

Yeah what a great presentation and personality.

[@DatingwithDanny]

She is so lovely and charming 😍 lol. Great video, I'll never forget this introduction to the Cor Anglais 😊. Thanks again 🙋‍♂️.

[@vtrmcs]

What a wonderfully engaging person. I thoroughly enjoyed this video and I cannot claim to have an interest in woodwind really.

[@ternitamas]

I love these videos, very informative and enjoyable!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you for watching! Please subscribe if you want to keep up to date with all of our releases.

[@an_honest_lad4998]

new world symphony thank you I really enjoyed that.

[@peterjmaida2057]

What an interesting instrument. So happy I found this channel. Bless these musicians for making these videos to explain their instruments. I am a cello student myself and a new subscriber.

[@katherinewangviolin]

Very helpful video, thanks!

[@aminthasangel6393]

She's fantástic! What a Sense of Humour!

[@rachelyeo4746]

Great clip! Very insightful and entertaining!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you very much, Rachel!

[@hashtagvirgogirl7555]

I lover her personality!!!! Please be my music teacher😍😍😍

[@DrQuizzler]

I studied oboe as kid, and I have yet to meet an oboist who isn't in some way funny, quirky, and a little bit eccentric. This wonderful lady seems to be no exception. She explained and demonstrated the workings and quirks of this beautiful, difficult instrument, and the frustrating but necessary craft of reed-making, extremely well. :)

[@Bluesmike86]

Fantastic Videos! Very informative, thank you!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you for watching!

[@chinchanlee3270]

I doubt that you'll read this, but I would LOVE it if there were a video also for the bass oboe, a criminally underrated instrument. I don't get it, the flute has the piccolo, the clarinet has the bass clarinet, and the bassoon has the contrabassoon as the common companion so to speak; yet of all of these, the woodwind with the smallest range (oboe) is the one that isn't commonly accompanied by another instrument in the family to extend the range by a full octave, but rather one that plays a 5th lower. I absolutely love the little I have heard of the bass oboe, I will never forget that solo it has in Saturn; what a dark instrument.

[@sergioacevedo2254]

I would love to see this too!

[@frankjuggaloheathen1035]

Ah yes, Gustav Holst's "The Planets," possibly my favorite suite of all time. And "Saturn" is my favorite of the seven movements, perhaps a VERY close second only to "Mars"

[@graffitinoah]

Very beautiful!

[@l.g.8028]

Thanks for sharing such an interesting video, the lady player is genius!

[@MrLieinking]

Love the sound

[@3000ararat]

Very nice 👍 I love it, thank you everyone

[@DominicR-y5d]

Well, thank you for a delightful explanation of that rare and lovely sounding instrument. I'll be aware or its unique sound whenever I hear it played.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you for your comment! We're glad you enjoyed the video.

[@wnsbug]

My goodness... She is such a beautiful charming lady. Wish I could take lessons from her!

[@PETERJOHN101]

So this is the instrument used so beautifully in Dvorkak's 9th, which is also my favorite symphony, and as an added bonus I now understand how to pronounce "cor anglais." By the way, Cesar Franck's Symphony in D Minor makes use of this instrument in a way that for some reason the musical snobs of his day excoriated.

[@Goriaas]

Cor Anglais just means English Horn. You could just call it that

[@EdofEngland]

Fantastic, thank you

[@TimLeeSongs]

I really enjoyed listening to this player, she’s clearly a good teacher. I wonder whether Andy MacKay from Roxy Music sometimes played one of these. I know he plays the oboe, but a few of their songs have this more mellow sound, especially on Avalon.

[@3000ararat]

Thank you for all this information, you are a very great person.

[@stitchyduck]

her playing dvorak on the cor anglais almost made me cry it really sounds melancholy

[@Bechora2012]

אישית אני אוהב לשמוע את חלקו של קרן היער ! ועכשיו אני מבין את כיצד הוא מוציא צלילים !!!

[@leehafner3730]

Wonderful...I never knew there was such an instrument

[@Hairmetallurgist]

Some people also insist that the name of the instrument came from the French "cor anglé" (angled horn, because of the angled bocal, which differs from the oboe's (though the dispute can be contentious, this name has most often been disregarded). The angled bocal allows the instrument to rest at an angle more accessible for the hands to manipulate the keys, since it is a very long instrument. Cor Anglais has often been a contentious name, as well, since it is neither English, nor a horn, in the truest sense of the word.

[@frankjuggaloheathen1035]

From Wikipedia: 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. The instrument originated in Silesia about 1720 when a bulb bell was fitted to a curved oboe da caccia-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 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. The name first appeared regularly in Italian, German, and Austrian scores from 1741 on, usually in the Italian form corno inglese.

I love how she seemed nervous and didn't really know what to talk about, and then she just went off talking about it naturally and enthusiastically

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you. We're glad you like it!

[@lucpraslan]

Such a cool instrument. Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky used it in The Nutcracker, Rimsky-Korsakov used it in Scheherazade, and don't forget the Roman Carnival overture of Berlioz... long live the cor anglais! 🎵🎶

[@Ganaha_Celosia_Priskos]

I play this instrument! Its super fun to play and sounds great!

[@steveturpin4242]

Absolutely fascinating......I didn't know you all made your own reeds. Love the instruments sound. Thank you for the vid.

[@davegeisler7802]

The English Horn sounds amazing ! 🤩

[@markpettis2896]

I I always like the sound of the cor anglais Especially in Wagner . I didn’t know all these interesting facts about to reid .I finally get to see what it looks like Thanks

[@obamer1342]

I'm sampling this thank you!

[@gazzamuso]

That face she pulled at the end was amazing 😆😆😆

[@cangeletti]

Very interesting, as usual, and Jill is a very funny person, thank you! :)

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

We're glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!

[@tunnis7us]

I propably have heard this in some classical, but never heard the name of this instrument until now. Very melancholic indeed, I like :) Interesting that they have to make their own reeds.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

NEW INSTRUMENT FILMS: Hi everyone! We’re about to embark on making some new instrument films and we want to hear from you! What instruments do you want to see covered? Reply within the next week! Thanks for watching!

[@mosesjohansen2608]

This is most informative, and I would like to marry this fine woman.

[@shashankchauhan5009]

Moses Johansen @4:39 ring alert 🚨

[@barryisland5942]

Very nice video, well presented, well explained. Nice personality comes shining through.

[@jayforerunner965]

OML the English horn/Cor Anglais sounds so pretty, but the fingering position of where your finger, go looks so hard because all that spacing in between each key.

[@wnsbug]

she played that all in one breath.... strong lungs!

[@rae-alysjones2274]

Feckin love Jill

[@ImmaculateRecovery]

fabulous

[@frzferdinand72]

5:14 it looks like she's about to cry out of frustration making those reeds haha

[@budderbear]

I couldn't imagine the dedication it takes to get to this level. I played clarinet in the 6th grade and that was fun, but this is like 1,000,000 times+ harder :0

[@spacep0d]

Fascinating! Thanks for explaining this in such a funny and concise fashion. I love the sound of the Cor Anglais. You mentioned this was 'Alto' but what is the Oboe, Soprano?

[@slmhcgqu]

mezzo?(im not sure whether they are different

[@elimooremusic]

Jill, you are beautiful.

[@8789spartan]

As a sax player, I find double reeded instruments very strange for some reason. They all just look weird, but interesting.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

I'm a clarinet player who has played the oboe and tried the bassoon. The weirdest sensation is the vibration on your upper lip.

[@fingmoron]

@@lesliefranklin1870 haven't played in a long time but never thought about it like that, I don't think I could get used to not having my teeth resting on the top. I've only ever played single reed instruments.

[@chillbro2275]

@@fingmoron see, that's interesting, because i disliked having my teeth on top of the mouth piece of the sax.

[@MrBilde]

Fantastic, didn't know the reed, was the same concept like a straw of grass :D

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@ilharmoniaLondon @UCKzx92ZqX1PKYTC-FC-CZRQ I prefer the name Alto Oboe because it's an Alto Voice. The Oboe D'amore is a Mezzo-Soprano voice which is why I replace D'amore w/ Mezzo-Soprano renaming the instrument Mezzo-Soprano Oboe. The Bass oboe is an octave below a Soprano Oboe making it more of a Tenor voice meaning that it's actually a true Tenor Oboe.

[@scottblasingame9789]

I think this instrument features prominently in Anthony Phillips' Geese and the Ghost album. Quite lovely.

[@dndnfgo-i3h]

thanks ! it is very helpful to me.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Glad it helped!