1. Torgeir Augundsson, better known as Myllarguten, is arguably the most acknowledged Norwegian folk musician to this day, and by far the most legendary.
14 Facts About Myllarguten
1. 2.
Myllarguten's father was a country fiddler, one of many at the time, and Torgeir was going for the fiddle from early age, but it is told he feared his father would beat him if he tried the instrument.
3.
Myllarguten soon got reputation, and played from early on at weddings and county feasts all over Telemark.
4.
Myllarguten soon made longer journeys, and spanned the country as far as Bergen and Gudbrandsdalen.
5.
Myllarguten was a difficult person, an imaginative musical artist, but painstakingly slow in all other tasks than playing.
6.
Myllarguten was eager to learn dance-tunes, and turned them around in his own way, making them longer and richer than before.
7.
Myllarguten had not yet opened his mind for the rural music, but when hearing Myllarguten, he got exactly what he had looked for.
8.
When going on stage, Myllarguten had to break his crate open with a knife, and was delayed several minutes.
9.
Myllarguten had played at his wedding, and was a regular guest at the farm.
10.
Myllarguten felt alone, frustrated and lost, but was still appreciated by his own community.
11.
Myllarguten is buried at the cemetery at Rauland in Telemark.
12.
Myllarguten was from the beginning a traditional folk musician, schooled and educated in local tradition.
13.
Myllarguten turned his tonality more towards the classical ideals, rather than the more rural blue note.
14.
Myllarguten had first-hand information, and collected material for twelve years, from 1896 to 1908, meeting many older people who remembered Myllarguten.