(by Geoff Brown)

They are called “Four Last Songs”.  As he wrote them, Richard Strauss called them his “posthumous songs” – as his health faltered and he approached the end of his life, he knew that they would be the four last songs he would ever write.  

A German composer most recognized and revered for “Also Sprach Zarathrusta” – a composition used to epic effect in the movie “2001, A Space Odyssey” – Strauss also understood his place in history.  Living in 1930’s Germany, he was part of an unbroken musical lineage going back to Beethoven.  But, because this was 1930’s Germany, and although there was nary a Nazi notion in his noggin, his zealous pursuit of the Germanic musical tradition had created the international perception that he was a card-carrying member of the Third Reich.

As a result, Strauss knew the stakes in writing these songs.  He wanted his final songs to convey the unrivalled legacy and glory of Germany’s musical heritage.  He wanted the songs to acquit him of any accusation of Arianism.  He wanted these songs to be perfect.

And, they were.  In fact, they were too perfect.  

Today, the songs are renowned for their vocal complexity, their long melodic lines, and the need for a strong, expressive tone, sustained past the lung capacity of any mere mortal.  History records that, as they were originally written, no soprano had the ability to manage the “diaphragmatic breathing” required for the songs to be sung.  Legend has it that the only soprano to sing the songs as written was also an oceanic free-diver, capable of holding her breath for upwards of 20 minutes.  

Strauss’ dying desire was that the songs would be premiered after his death by a German soprano named Kirsten Flagstad.  But, recognizing that she did not have the lung capacity to deliver the songs in their original beauty without passing out, she did the unthinkable and declined Strauss’ dying wish.  Yet, the composer was not undone.  Instead, he worked closely with Flagstad and together–composer and soprano working in harmony–they adjusted both lyrics and melody so that the beauty of the songs was not compromised and Flagstad would not pass out at the debut performance.

But, this all begs the simple question:  Why would a maestro write something so perfect and at a standard that no person could attain?  Can you imagine a written document holding those that seek to follow it to a standard that they could not humanly achieve?  What purpose would it serve?

If you’re not yet capturing my meaning, I’ll say it plainly.  Is it possible that our students see God’s word, and the standards it would hold them to, in very much the same light that every 1930’s German soprano saw Strauss’ Four Last Songs?  If such perfection is simply not possible, is it fair?

Strauss understood that the real beauty in his Four Last Songs was not in the product.  Rather, it was in the process.  This true beauty was found in the process of writer and singer working together towards perfection even if, on this side of Heaven’s veil, that perfection was never attained on earth.  Beyond the composition of the Four Last Songs, it was in the process of aspiring towards unattainable perfection that the world realized the heart of the composer.  And, in so doing, Strauss achieved what he set out to do.

We have the same beauty available to us in the disciplinary process.  God’s word is perfect, true, and an unchanging standard around which we need to orient our lives.  But, like so many German sopranos, our students cannot attain its perfection.  Instead, beauty is found in the process of school, home, and student working together, in harmony and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, towards a bullseye we will never hit.  

When that email hits your inbox notifying you that your student was tardy or out of dress code, don’t be undone.  When the call comes home that your student said that one word they should not say or looked at someone else’s spelling test, don’t even be surprised.  Instead, impossible as it may seem, recognize the beauty of the moment.  These cues are simply an invitation to participate in a sacred and beautiful process.

Geoff Brown is the Superintendent of Northwest Christian School located in Phoenix, AZ. Northwest Christian School is one of the largest private Christian schools in the state of Arizona and the only ACSI Exemplary Accredited school in the state.

This post is sponsored by NCS Online. NCS Online is a fully online K-11th grade Christian school providing an online education that is rigorous, affordable, and rooted in Biblical worldview. To learn more about NCS Online, visit NCSonline.org.