The relationship betwen Music/Singing and Magic

[Pitchwife]

Thanks, Durelin, that's an interesting connection between the draugar and singing - considering that the Elves seem to have made the most use of musical magic, and Celtic folklore closely associates (sometimes even identifies) the elves or fairies with the spirits of the Dead, as both kinds of beings are said to dwell in hills/mounds/barrows.

Originally Posted by Ibrin

the piece was titled "Geographical Fugue" by Ernst Toch, and was first performed in 1930, I believe

That one! Yes, it sort of rocks in a way. Here's a link to a good performance, if anyone's interested in what it sounds like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b59Tpi_tDYo
The funny side is that the 'lyrics' consist entirely of place names from all over the world (hence the title).
Toch probably got some inspiration from the German and French Dadaists' experiments with Lautpoesie (sound poetry) - rhythmic recitations of nonsense or half-nonsense words/syllables for musical effect (e.g. Hugo Ball's famous Caravan or Kurt Schwitters' Ursonate, probably the most elaborate attempt in this direction). Some of these things can sound very much like incantations.