Read the program notes here!
Hello Friends.
As we come up on our June 6th and 7th (2026) concerts, we want to share a little bit about Matthew Compton’s "When All Else Fails…" a multi-movement composition written for handbells, piano, string quartet, woodwinds, voices, and percussion. Each movement is based on a poem, text, or quote that relates to different human emotions or connections, and the theme can finish the phrase “When all else fails…. Peace. When all else fails… Dreams” and so on.
Bells of the Cascades is thrilled to be collaborating with the Pikes Peak Ringers from Colorado Springs, Colorado and 16 other musicians from the local Portland area and four different states around the United States. This concert will be something remarkably special!
The entire work is based on a melodic motif that “Prologue,” the opening movement of the song cycle, begins with. This three note motif permeates each movement, sometimes in a sneaky way! “Prologue” sets the tone through gentle foreshadowing, sampling other melodic material from the subsequent ten movements to follow. These three notes are sometimes used as transitional material and at other times embedded in the melodies of some movements. Treat it like a “Where’s Waldo?” situation, and see how many times you can find this motif!
The second movement in the suite is “Where the Skyline Encircled the Sea.” This movement is dedicated to Bells of the Cascades—Portland’s own premier community handbell ensemble. Based on the poem “Your World” by Georgia Douglas Johnson, this movement sets the tone with the theme of Courage. The title of the movement comes from this line in the poem:
But I sighted the distant horizon.
Where the skyline encircled the sea
And I throbbed with a burning desire
To travel this immensity.
The courage it takes to rise to a challenge, especially one so daunting and far off, is immense, and Bells of the Cascades embodies this attitude on a consistent basis. The flowing 16th notes and cascading theme feel like the sea is speaking through the musicians to the audience.
----Part 2
“'Truth,' said a traveler” is based on the poem of the same name by Stephen Crane. Seeking truth can be an enticing and elusive challenge and sometimes we choose to believe the things we cannot see or touch. Sometimes the truth comes from a harsh reality shared by a close friend and sometimes the truth comes out even when we try to ignore it. But most times, the truth is what we need as it provides clarity. Dedicated to the Pikes Peak Ringers, the theme of Truth stands out clearly in this movement as the beginning imitates the ambiguity of “a breath, a wind, a shadow, a phantom” with a wistful sadness that evolves into intense drive in seeking the truth.
In a time where the world feels helpless and lost, sometimes the thing we need the most is Peace. The evocative beauty of Wendell Berry’s poem “The Peace of Wild Things” needs no alteration or adjustment and allows for the reader (or in this case, the listener) to feel the beauty of nature as a means to find peace—the cares and challenges of the world disappear, even just for a moment. We are joined by two vocalists who share this poem, passing the melody back and forth like a conversation, and hopefully allow us all “for a time to rest in the grace of the world.” This movement is dedicated to Davey Neuder, one of my best friends who has been a source of comfort and peace for many years and who is consistently drawn to the beauty of nature and preserving the world we live in.
----Part 3
One of my favorite musicals is Moulin Rouge (originally Baz Luhrmann’s jukebox movie musical) and the main philosophical tenets of the Bohemian crew are “Freedom, Beauty, Truth and above all things, Love.” These values all ring true, but I have to particularly agree with Love. Dedicated to my amazing partner, Josh Billings, The Love Which Makes Us One is based on the poem “I loved you first: but afterwards your love” by Christina Rossetti and specifically the last few lines of the poem:
For one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nought of ‘thine that is not mine;’
Both have the strength and both the length thereof,
Both of us, of the love which makes us one.
Love is something extremely challenging and rewarding all at the same time and author/activist bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins) says it best - “we do not have to love. We choose to love.” We choose to love because we want to be loved. We choose to love because it brings us closer to others. We choose to love because it’s right, even when it’s hard. In this fifth movement, I hope you can hear the conversations between people who love each other, the joy and excitement of a loving relationship, and the comfort of a shared moment with a loved one.
Faith is defined as believing in something even without direct proof. There are many things that people might have faith in but religious faith is probably the strongest example. The sixth movement Neither Angels, Nor Demons, Nor Powers is based on Romans 8:38-39 which is “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor any thing else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This piece was commissioned by Loma Linda University Church in honor of their former handbell director Cheryl Smith and the 50th anniversary of their handbell program. In a world that feels so bleak, moments of people working together for change, social justice, or little acts of kindness restores our faith in humanity. We can be better and we can have faith that people want to make the world a better place.
--Part 4
We begin the second half of When All Else Fails… with the short “Intermezzo.” This brief seventh movement is a melancholic return to the suite. Simple, elegant, and using a stripped down instrumentation with a soprano vocalist, this movement’s darker tone leads directly into the eighth movement “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” based on the poem of the same name, written by Emily Dickinson. Much lighter in tone, this movement features a tenor duet acting like an optimistic conversation between two friends, reminding all of us that Hope is something metaphorical but so powerful living within each of us, all while asking for nothing in return. Dedicated to former Bells of the Cascades member Ivan Boothe, this movement reminds us that if we have hope, this world can be a better place and each of us can bring something to the world to be a beacon of hope to someone else.
Happiness is sometimes rare to come by. True happiness is different for everyone. Sometimes, it’s enjoying conversation and hanging out with friends while for others, it’s being home alone, reading a book and sipping on a hot cup of tea. There is always something that brings us happiness. A fleeting smile from a friend can last for only a second, but can change our whole day and hanging on to that happiness can be a true joy. “This Happiness” was commissioned by the Council Oak Bells of First United Methodist Church in Round Rock, TX (Amy Epperson Thomas, director), and is a bouncy, light-hearted change of pace from the preceding movements. “This Happiness” by Witter Bynner, as a poem, was never connected to Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” or either of the Langston Hughes poems of the next movement, but in this setting the poem acts as a bridge between hope, happiness, and dreams in such an effortless way!
--Part 5
“What are your hopes and dreams?” This is a question that we’ve all been asked at some point. Dreams come in many different forms—the most obvious being the vivid pictures and movies we experience when we sleep. I have a weird relationship with dreams in that I don’t remember most of my dreams at all, but I do remember how they made me feel many mornings! But what about our waking hopes and dreams? What do we dream of? A better world? Peace? Lofty as those are, sometimes we hope and dream for something as simple as a hug from a friend. A brief moment of connection with a stranger that brings a smile to our faces. Movement ten, “Dreamweaver,” is based on two Langston Hughes poems treating dreams as if they are a physical thing; something that could be broken. But if we share these dreams with others, and we trust in people enough to support us, then we can accomplish amazing things together. Using the full instrumental ensemble, this movement exudes joy and energy and even hints back to a melodic figure from “'Truth,' said a traveller.” “Dreamweaver” was dedicated to the amazing musicians and members of Zenith, an auditioned handbell ensemble that I co-conduct with one of my best friends, Alex Guebert. Zenith started as a dream and has become a reality that neither Alex nor I could have predicted! What about you? What are your dreams?
As we come to the end of When All Else Fails… I am reflecting on so many aspects of this journey both from a compositional standpoint as well as the personal connections and performers who made this dream come to life. As I said at the start of my notes, music connects us more than anything else in the world and this feels so real in this exact moment. Bells of the Cascades and the Pikes Peak Ringers have worked tirelessly for months and friends, new and old, have come together to perform and to be present here. There’s something special to see friendship on display as strongly as it is here. “Zenicitia,” the eleventh and final movement of this suite, was composed as a surprise to Alex Guebert. A portmanteau of the words Zenith and amicitia (the Latin word for friendship), “Zenicitia” is an homage to Alex’s incredible compositional style. I borrowed many musical ideas and staples of his writing throughout this finale, which is signed off by his signature “X” that is so often used in his compositions. This is one of the few movements that is not based on a poem, but rather a video game quote:
"It is something that grows over time... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time. True passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go..."
-Shiek, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
