In 1989 as the Soviet Union was disintegrating, the singers of Anchiskhati were the first to revive medieval church music in services. They sing chants that were previously unknown or available only in indecipherable manuscripts. An ancient center of enlightenment, Anchiskhati Church, which dates from the sixth century, is the oldest Orthodox Christian church in the Georgian capital of Tblisi. Georgian church chanting is on of the country's chief artistic traditions and widely regarded as unique among world music's. Nothing like its polyphony, with three independent melodies juxtaposed in harmony, exists anywhere else in the world.
Some musicologists believe that polyphony originated in Georgia before spreading to Europe.
In any case most experts agree that polyphony was established in Georgia by about the seventh century three hundred years before it developed in Western Europe. The church music and the folk music of Georgia are closely intertwined, and Anchiskhati Church's choir sings them both boldly. The common roots of both kinds of music in Georgia's history lie with an ancient modal system, which predates western octaves and common practice harmonies. The Anchiskhati singers are strongly committed to the authenticity of their singing. They gather their material from archival recordings and, whenever possible, travel to different areas of Georgia to study church music and folk songs in their many regional variations.