Our parish rarely programmes The Lord is my shepherd to CRIMOND, but it is almost universal at funerals. That and Soul of my Saviour to ANIMA CHRISTI are, I think, the only hymns any English Catholic congregation can definitely sing unaccompanied.

Don, I use two out of the entire list. I wouldn't use those if the hymnal had a better selection of communion hymns. It doesn't, and most of them are awful.

I forgot to add "Shout To the Lord". There are a host of songs they sing for the children's masses. OMG!

There is a choral arrangement of Adoramus Te by Michael Joncas which mixes together When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, I'm afraid I don't care for that arrangement.

Perhaps there is a glimmer of light, our choir is learning to sing the Divine Praises by Schloeder as our prayer at the end of choir practice. I recently redid the this in Muse Score and submitted to our music director. I remember singing those at every benediction in my old parish. We pray before and after choir practice. Also, we are practicing the choral arrangement of Adoramus Te Christe arranged by Richard Proulx which is T. Dubois which is much more appreciated.

I think this is a very local thing. Musicians get sick of doing the things that are overdone wherever they are.

When I was taking organ lessons, my organ teacher was very prone to overdoing LAUDA ANIMA. It took years before I was over my trauma regarding this great hymn. If you do something every week or every other week - it just grows old fast.

Once I was at a parish that used acclamation based on LAND OF REST. I'm just barely over my anti-LAND OF REST feelings 10 years later.

Unless I missed it, the Heritage Missal of OCP DROPPED Soul of My Savior!!! I am going through one more time to see if it is there, but not in the index of hymns.

We've actually always sung the hymn to COVERDALE, which is a beautiful tune by Maurice Bevan. Works both as an anthem or a congregational hymn.

This CORVEDALE is a beautiful tune, of which I had not been aware. It pairs very well with the text.

To the defenders of IN BABILONE, I say: to each his own...
I believe there are dozens of 8787 or 8787D hymns out there which would work better. Perhaps Stainer's LOVE DIVINE or CROSS OF JESUS, or Parry's RUSTINGTON

While only Sung once a year, but every year, at pretty much every parish/school for the past 25+ Years On Ash Wednesday across North America...hands down, Ashes.

I'm a fan of IN BABILONE, but not for "There's a wideness...", for which there are many better tunes. Don't knock it, though--it works great in other contexts.

In addition to those mentioned by Don9of11 above, these are some hymns that are widely overused in my area:

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (Hyfrydol)
Were you there
Immaculate Mary
We Gather Together
Gather Us In
All are Welcome
Let us Break Bread Together
Taste and See
Eat This Bread
I Am the Bread of Life
Here I Am Lord
How Great Thou Art
Amazing Grace
Peace is Flowing Like a River
All Creatures of Our God and King
Soon and Very Soon
The Cry of the Poor

Soul of My Savior is retained in the 2018 OCP Breaking Bread Music Issue, but it is very rarely used in this area.

Tunes that are overused: LASST UNS ERFREUEN; THAXTED (as in, why put 200 different texts to it?)
Texts that are overused: Most, if not all, of the OCP/GIA stuff mentioned above and popularly used.

With all due respect, Schonbergian, I cannot but think of 'That Eastertide With Joy Was Bright' as anything but a pompous misfit with Lasst uns erfreuen. 'That Eastertide...' belongs with Puer Natus, forming a most gracious wedding therewith. Lasst uns erfreuen (also known as Vigiles et Sancti) is indeed versatile and fits several texts well, most notably 'Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones' and 'All Creatures of Our God and King'. I've never heard it with 'That Eastertide...'. Where did you encounter this mistake?

By the way, there is a fine descant for Lasst uns...-'Ye Watchers..' in the Oxford Easy Anthem Book. It is by George Oldroyd.
Very easy but dashingly effective.

Perhaps just my upbringing in play, then.

There is also a fine descant for LASST by Harold Darke in his "Harvest Cantata" [i]The Sower[/i], set to "Ye Watchers...". I'm not sure how well-known it is, though.

In my parish, "Soon and Very Soon" was used three Sundays of Advent; yet, on the other hand, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" was not used even once. It doesn't make any sense to me.

I haven't forgotten it, but program it about 4 times a year to keep the peace.

Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art have an appeal that I just don't get. They are probably the two most requested hymns for funerals, except for Eagle's Wings.

Tennessee Ernie Ford?

Understand that "over used" in terms of funerals and similar ritual Masses is relatively meaningless to the faithful in the pews. They are generally not attending all of those events. Just the ones for their loved ones....

Musicians ache from a given hymn far earlier than the PIPs. Then again, musicians love hymns that give them interesting things to do that the PIPs may well have no interest in.

It is interesting that hymns which were once "Protestant" are now popular with Catholics. Was there ever an official proscription against certain hymns or am I mistaken? This harks back to the early sixties.

Right--generally speaking before 1964 or so, hymns in the English language used in Catholic services were, for the most part, composed by Catholic musicians and Catholic authors. Most of the Catholic hymnals before this time adhered to this practice almost exclusively as one can see by examining any of the preVatican II hymnals. In 1964, the Gregorian Institute of America published HYMNAL OF CHRISTIAN UNITY (Clifford Bennett and Paul Hume, editors) and dedicated it to "Pope John XXIII whose love for all faiths has inspired this work."

"Faith of Our Fathers," of course, is an exception since it is found in both Catholic and Protestant hymnals for most of the 20th century. The composer, Father Frederick Faber, was an Anglican convert.

SarahJ, I will try not to think of you and Gilligan on Good Friday, THANKS ALOT!

There are also overused jokes!