Bhairavee - Thumree

\"Bhairavee – Thumree\" is a collaborative track recorded by sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan and shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. The composition appears as the second track on Side B of the 1967 album Duets, released under the label His Master’s Voice in a 12\" vinyl format.

The piece belongs to the thumree genre, a semi-classical vocal form adapted here for instrumental performance. The raga Bhairavee serves as the melodic foundation, characterized by its early morning association and use of the komal re (flattened second) and komal ni (flattened seventh) in descent. The recording captures an improvisational dialogue between Khan’s sitar and Khan’s shehnai, a rare documented collaboration between the two artists in a studio setting.

The album Duets emerged during a period of cross-genre experimentation in Hindustani classical music, though specific session details—including recording location, producer, or accompanying artists—remain undocumented in available sources. His Master’s Voice, a subsidiary of EMI India, distributed the vinyl as part of its classical music catalog, targeting audiences familiar with both instrumental virtuosity and light-classical traditions.

Notable for its fusion of the shehnai’s sustained phrasing and the sitar’s intricate taans, the track exemplifies the adaptive nature of thumree in instrumental arrangements. The original vinyl release included no liner notes or track timings, and later reissues or digital remasters—if any—have not been verified in public records.