Historically, West and Central Asia has been considered a region with a less developed choral music tradition. This lack of choral development had many causes, such as limitations put on music activities by Islam, the main religion for the Arab, Persian, and Turkic ethnic groups predominantly living in this part of the world; focus on individual rather than collective musical self-expression; the prevalence of monodic forms; improvisation as the key element of the music. Nonetheless, it would be simplistic to ignore unique forms of choral music that have emerged in this region since antiquity. These forms have later become sources for creative exploration by national composers. Arab, Persian and Turkic music traditions are distinct from each other and diverse within themselves. However, they underwent long historical periods of convergence and mutual influence which caused the presence of many common traits.

The earliest forms of choral music in the region go back to Zoroastrianism, the oldest of the revealed religions, which emerged in Iran and later spread out to the subcontinent, including territories of the present-day Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Zoroastrianism considered music as a sacred channel, a means of communication between human beings and the divine. In combination with the idea of collectivism essential for this faith, this belief was responsible for the important role of choral singing in Zoroastrian rituals. Prophet Zoroaster is believed to be the author of gathas, the hymns of praise that date to the second millennium BCE and have been included in Avesta, the holy book of faith. Seventeen gathas are a part of yasna, Zoroastrian liturgy, being arranged according to meter in five groups.