Note: This article is slightly rewritten from an original I wrote for Wikipedia some years ago (which I see has been left alone, unlike the bombard article)  ~ Fañch

The piston (Breton: pistoñ, English phonetic "pist-on") is a type of oboe invented by Breton musician, teacher, and luthier Youenn Le Bihan (Skolvan, Gwerz) in 1983. The pistoñ is a contemporary development of the hautbois - the classical and/or baroque oboe, influenced by the bombard or talabard, the traditional double-reed oboe of Brittany. It is typically rooted in the key of D, making it a C instrument like other oboes, and features post-mounted simple system key-work to expand its range. The tone of the pistoñ stands in a warm and rich middle ground between the trumpet-like tone of the bombard and that of the baroque oboe. The bore is similar to that of a baroque or classical oboe. 

The pistoñ uses a fairly stiff reed based on cane of an approximate diameter of 12mm, very similar in size to those of the baritone oboe (approximately 9 mm in width at the tip), English horn and baroque oboe. Unlike these other oboes, however, the pistoñ reed's brass staple resembles that of the conservatoire oboe, having a cylindrical cork outer layer to slide into the reed well of the instrument, therefore requiring neither thread to wrap the staple nor a bocal for it to fit into.

Since its debut by Le Bihan with groups such as Gwerz and Skolvan, use of the pistoñ has slowly expanded in popularity in traditional groups associated with Fest Noz dance music, typically accompanied by instruments such as fiddle, guitar, wooden flute, and chromatic or diatonic accordion. Some other musicians who have recorded with the pistoñ are the group Koun (pistoñ: Josik Allot), Tud (instruments and music by luthier and musician Eric Ollu), Penn Gollo (pistoñ: Jean-Claude Petit), E-leizh (pistoñ: Ronan Le Dissez), Skeud (hautbois: Rémy le Bray), and Ampouailh (Subois: Simon Lotout).

Initially Le Bihan was the only maker of the instrument, and he made them on only a very limited basis. Other makers soon filled the void, however, and instruments by makers such as Hervieux & Glet, Jean-Luc Ollivier and Eric Ollu began to fill the pistoñ role as well. 

Ollu objects strenuously to the use of the term "pistoñ". As he states on his website (translated): "I always call the instrument by its real name; oboe or baroque oboe. I suppose I could call it an Olluphone, tromblophone or some other fantastic name. Why in Brittany and only in Brittany do people call a Baroque oboe a pistoñ? One can only wonder that information available since the fifteenth century has not yet been received! Why give the name of a brass instrument to a woodwind?" (In French, piston occurs as a shortened form of cornet à pistons, the instrument known in English as a cornet.) In actuality, the instrument received its name not from the cornet but from the notoriously colorful mind of flutist Jean-Michel Veillon (Pennou Skoulm, Kornog, Barzaz). Jean-Michel told this writer, laughing while gesturing rhythmically, that it refers to the act of masturbation, specifically to a man who can’t stop masturbating. 

While Mr. Ollu might market his instruments as baroque oboes, the pistoñ differs from the baroque or classical oboe in several ways beyond the differences in reeds and keywork mentioned above. Changes in the size and placement of the finger holes have produced changes in the fingerings used to produce the notes F and F#, allowing very rapid passages to be played in E minor without the use of forked fingerings. The pistoñ is also tuned to concert standard A440 tuning rather than a historically-based tuning scheme such as A=415 or 430. Altogether, these developments highlight the pistoñ as an evolving instrument intended to play a role in contemporary popular music, rather than recreate music and performance from the past.

2024 Skolvan promotional image: Hundreds of memories and anecdotes hidden in this oboe designed for Skolvan by Youenn Le Bihan and named "piston". Photo: Serj Philouze

The group Skeud, with Rémy le Bray on hautbois.