Two Geese Pecking

Introduction

A long-form suite of Chaozhou suona-and-big-drum music that draws on village life.

Two Geese Pecking is a traditional piece of Chaozhou big gong-and-drum music, and the national intangible heritage listing for Chaozhou music names it among the genre's representative works. Suona-led big gong-and-drum bands play with the big drum at the centre, and their repertoire divides into suites built from labelled tunes and long processional suites. In an article on the performing forms of Chaozhou music, Cai Songqi places this work among the long processional suites, which mostly draw on everyday life and labour and carry a strong rural flavour. The Chinese Wikipedia article on Chaozhou music likewise pairs it with Casting the Net as a typical big gong-and-drum piece. None of the sources consulted names its maker or the date it took shape.