I have a question regarding instances where a single instrument is written with multiple voices on a single stave (e.g. in a Bach keyboard fugue), and whether accidentals apply to all voices.
Gould is clear that they do (p. 79), so the attached example (AccidentalVoices.png) as rendered by Dorico is correct - there is no accidental on the F# in the lower voice.
However, actual practice seems to be at variance with this - as is the opinion of my theory lecturer. See the attached excerpt (Bach.png) from the Bärenreiter edition of Das Woltemperierte Klavier from 1995.
As far as I can see, there isn’t an option to choose the behaviour in the Notation Options. Am I missing something? Could this please be added to Dorico?
Hi Michael,
Many thanks, but that’s not quite what I mean. The Modernist option gives the correct notation is this case, but it adds additional accidentals in other cases.
Hopefully, the attached example will help. AccidentalsCommon.png shows what Dorico does by default. AccidentalsModernist shows the modernist option - every F# has an accidental. However, I would simply like the common practice approach to apply to each voice separately - as in AccidentalsVoices - so that there is just one additional accidental.
I assume that when Dorico has the ability to combine more than one player on a staff, this will be possible (e.g. two trumpeters on the same staff require this approach). However, for keyboard music (one player only, but with several voices), the same possibility needs to be available.
Im not at the computer right now but I swear Dorico has an engraving option related to this. Have you perused the options? Or perhaps it’s in notation options?
Edit — Back at the studio and going crazy here. Can’t find it either. I must be assuming that it was only natural that this option would be fleshed out. Hopefully someone else can help.
Well, as frustrating as this option might be, fwiw, (and you probably know this already) you can select any note and tell Dorico it to show the accidental in the preference pane at the bottom. [not the solution you’re looking for… I know. but I wanted to mention just in case.]
Sorry to take a while to come back to you on this one: I can confirm that there is indeed no option for this at the moment. When we have features to actively combine music for individual players onto the same staff, then the appearance you desire would be the default behaviour in that situation.
I realize I’m 5+ years late to the party on this one. I know that the current condensing options probably cover this, but in the case you’re writing a divisi part and want accidentals to automatically show up in a different voice, is there still no way to do this automatically?
