You know me: I make worship aids every week. That said, I can tell you that I’ve employed Antiphonrenewal texts for 1.5—2 years now. I love using them. (I do tweak them at times because they are great but aren’t perfect.) I also sometimes employ Aristotle’s offertory hymn texts. Between those two resources, you get a lot of mileage. I have not had a single complaint about using these texts. I have noticed that participation has dipped a tiny bit on tunes that are less-familiar to the people (I cast a wide net for my hymn tunes) and I think this is in part due to the fact that pairing specific texts with specific melodies in a fixed way is a memory aid. Nevertheless, I’m happy with the results, and it is particularly cool when the entrance antiphon hymns end and we begin chanting Fr. Weber during the incensation of the altar… then the connection becomes crystal clear, and the people have had their chance to sing (“in accordance with local custom” *eyeroll*) but the chanting by the choir suffices for actual, legitimate propers in the fullest sense, which then provides an excellent segue into the chanting of the collect.

Suffice to say, I’m a big fan of this approach. The two aforementioned resources (AR and Esguerra) leave you only needing some communion hymns, but those are a special genre unto themselves, and communion is the one time that even liberal parishes seem to permit chanting without too much fuss as long as they still get their hymn before or after. So I’m not convinced that “communion antiphon hymns” are “necessary” in the same way that introit tropes are. That said, I’d certainly welcome such a collection.

I love this, Gerard.

What was the reason given for them being banned?

This is a very interesting idea!

Keep copyrights in mind, though.

Gerard, I'm sorry to hear these things, although I can't say I'm surprised. (In fairness to the people, one verse is not very much to sing. We always have 2-3 verses when we do it, and then the schola doesn't jump in until the hymn is done and the incensation of the altar has begun.)

The whole "chant is too sombre" thing really bothers me, too. I've heard similar things. The irony, of course, is that various popes and documents and decrees have all stated that chant is integral to the roman rite in its fullest expression, which means that the aforementioned spirit of the chant is contributing something fundamental to the feel of the liturgy. In other words, it would seem that the roman rite requires a certain sobriety that is integral to the rite itself. But modern man has such a hard time coping with this. It is so sad. Especially considering the fact that when people finally warm up to the idea, they tend to find it a comfort rather than a distraction. I've been told multiple times over the course of a few years some variation on "I really feel like I can pray when you are chanting; it's great!". ...it's almost as if... chant is sung prayer and fosters a sense of prayer and devotion during mass!

I’ve actually considered offering a service, through my antiphonrenewal, wherein i compile antiphon hymns chosen by the customer into a hymnal that I upload to Lulu press for them to purchase. But this is not actually that difficult to do ones own. I think it’s a kind of cool idea. You could have an “entrance hymns” book in your pew. This is essentially what Teitz and Pluth offer. It would be cool to have a customizable one. Anything from antiphonrenewal could be printed without a fee or licensing agreement. Anything from the other resources could be Included too as long as they are reported to onelicense when used. If anyone is really keen on this idea I’m willing to explore it with them.

"The whole "chant is too sombre" thing really bothers me, too."

The only people that claim that are folks that are not very familiar with the wide range of chant and all the moods it can express.

For example, when we sing "Regina Coeli ", I can't imagine anyone in the congregation feeling sombre, it has such a joyful sense and beauty.

I think the perception of chant as somber depends in part (only in part) upon how the chant flows. If it's staid, or plodding, it's not going to be attractive.