Music heals.
"There’s something about music that carries ideas deeper than the literal meanings themselves," said James Durst, a full-time musician for four decades.

Durst is one of the founding members of Work O’ the Weavers, a band that celebrates the music of The Weavers.
The Weavers – Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman – formed in 1948. They sang old folk songs and spirituals that became hits such as: "Goodnight, Irene," "House of the Rising Sun," and "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore."
"They started the folk music boom," said Guilderland native, Mark Murphy – the bassist for Work O’ the Weavers.
"They were really the first group to bring traditional music to a wide audience," Murphy said.

Work O’ the Weavers will bring the classic folk songs of The Weavers to the area on March 4; they will play a coffeehouse at the Ohav Shalom Congregation in Albany.
Work O’ the Weavers not only sing the "beloved, familiar songs that the Weavers popularized, we also tell their story," said Durst.

The group – Durst, Murphy, David Bernz, and Martha Sandefer – presents a dialogue throughout each performance, telling the history of The Weavers and their songs.
"A lot of the narrative appears in the form of song introductions," Durst said of this unique theatrical element.
"Music is at the very heart of our existence," Durst said. The human heartbeat is the rhythm-keeper of our lives, he said.

The real connection the group has with The Weavers, is through Bernz, Durst told The Enterprise. Bernz lives near Seeger in Beacon, a city in Dutchess County on the Hudson River, about 60 miles north of New York. Bernz also works with Seeger frequently, Durst said.
Bernz grew up next door to Hays – who was known as "Uncle Lee" to Bernz and his siblings, Durst said. Hays lived next door to Bernz’s family until he died in 1981.

Work O’ the Weavers came about as the brainchild of Durst and Bernz, Murphy said. They wanted to celebrate, honor, and thank The Weavers while three members are still alive, he said.
They have been doing just that since 2002. The group is now putting the "finishing touches on a second CD," Murphy said. They have also expanded the songs they perform to include songs "written in the same spirit as The Weavers’ materials," he said.
Durst said he appreciates music that gets people singing along together and unifies them. The music "goes deeper into the spirit," he said.
"We love the music. It takes on a life of its own in our performance," said Durst.

Songs that rally the masses

Seeger and Hays began playing music together in 1940 in a band called The Almanac Singers, which included Woodie Guthrie. The Almanac Singers toured the country, supporting civil rights, human rights, and workers’ rights.

The group’s anti-war album, Songs for John Doe, got them into trouble, leading to an FBI investigation.
The Weavers, too, faced scrutiny for their political beliefs. During the "Red Scare" of the 1950s, The Weavers were called to testify in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The band’s affiliation with the Communist Party was questioned, and the group disbanded in 1953.

They reunited and brought folk music to popularity in the 1950s and 60s.

Seeger, in an earlier interview with The Enterprise, said that song has played an important role in sustaining causes around the world. "In Ireland, it was a common saying that King James lost the throne because of the song Lillibolero" It’s a very spirited satirical song," he said.
"My guess is that 99.99 percent of the songs don’t do much, but along comes one which makes a breakthrough the way We Shall Overcome did. This song has gone around the world," Seeger told The Enterprise earlier.

Historically, song has been symbolic of various movements, Durst told The Enterprise. "Song has been used to rally people’s feelings and actions."

Murphy told The Enterprise that today’s polarized "political atmosphere has some similarities" to The Weavers’ era.
Murphy wanted to encourage young musicians to "keep on practicing," he said, "Music can take you all over the world if you keep your hearts and your fingers into it."

The only full-timer
"I’m the only full-timer," Durst said. Playing music has been his full-time job, he said, since he took his first solo tour in the summer of 1965.

The other three members have day jobs, he said.

Bernz has a law practice. Murphy is a carpenter, and also plays in other musical groups. Sandefer is a full-time teacher.

Murphy has played music since the third grade, he said, when he began playing the cello at Altamont Elementary School. He started bass in the 10th grade, he said.
Murphy’s parents are both very musical, and still play in a contra dance band, he said. They "helped introduce me to music," he said.
Music has brought Murphy "to many, many parts of the world," he said.
It recently brought Work O’ the Weavers to Israel, where they played the Jacob’s Ladder Festival, and then toured for two weeks, Durst said. "We performed all over the country," he said.

Durst followed the Work O’ the Weavers tour with a solo tour around Israel.
"I’ve been very fortunate that my songs are my ticket to the planet," Durst said.
He says he has "always been curious about the world" It came very naturally for me to learn songs in other languages."

Durst made his first international tour in 1972, visiting Iceland, Sweden, and Germany.
Before the tour, he learned a Swedish song and a German song, but couldn’t find an Icelandic song. When he arrived in Iceland, he said, "I found a folksinger there who taught me an Icelandic folk song – a 19th-Century lullaby."
Music is Durst’s "life-long pursuit," he said. When asked if he makes a good living as a musician, Durst said he replies, "I’m making a life."
"The Weavers and their music gave heart to a generation " and for that we owe them a great debt of gratitude," Durst said.

The March 4 Work O’ the Weavers show will be held at Congregation Ohav Shalom at 115 Krum Kill Rd. in Albany. Tickets are $18 each, or a special package which includes: two tickets, a CD, and priority seating can be purchased for $60. Tickets can be purchased by calling 489-4706. More information about Work O’ the Weavers can be found at their website: www.workotheweavers.com.