Piston

The piston (Breton: pistõn) is a type of oboe invented by Breton musician, teacher, and luthier Youenn Le Bihan in 1983^[1]. The piston is a contemporary development of the hautboy or baroque oboe, influenced by the bombard or talabard, the traditional double reed instrument of Brittany. It is typically rooted in the key of D and features post-mounted simple system key-work to expand its range. The tone of the piston stands in a warm and rich middle ground between the trumpet-like tone of the bombard and that of the baroque oboe.

The piston uses a fairly stiff reed very similar in size to that of a baritone oboe (approximately 9 mm in width at the tip), with some similarities to english horn and baroque oboe reeds as well. Unlike either of these, however, the piston reed's staple has the modern oboe staple's cork outer layer and fits into a cylindrical ( as opposed to conical) opening in the instrument, requiring neither thread to wrap the staple, nor a bocal for it to fit into.

Since its debut by Mr. Le Bihan with groups such as Gwerz and Skolvan^[2], use of the piston has slowly expanded in popularity in traditional groups associated with the "fest noz" dance culture, typically accompanied by instruments such as fiddle, guitar, flute, and accordion. Some other musicians who have recorded with the piston are the group Koun ( piston: Josik Allot ), Tud ( instruments and music by Eric Ollu ), and Penn Gollo ( piston: Jean-Claude Petit ).

Initially Mr. 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 ^[3] and Eric Ollu ^[4] began to fill the piston role as well.

1. ^ http://texcelt.org/BombardeFAQ.html
2. ^ Skolvan
3. ^ HERVIEUX & GLET : le site Web
4. ^ Eric Ollu - player of traditional music form Britanny

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