Condensing Flutes

[rrodseth]

Two flutes, passage starts out with one of them playing, then both in unison starting on second system.
I end up with notes on first system labelled “1.” as I’d expect. Then it switches to stems up/down when the unison starts in the middle of the second system. But then on the third system it switches to up-stems labelled “a2”. Since it’s clear the unison is recognized, why the up-stem/down-stem part rather than just a change to “a2”?

[MarcLarcher]

Hi rrodseth!
Just wondering whether you’ve asked the same question on FB — answered by Pianoleo… The answer is that condensing works on phrases. The condensing system won’t reset until the phrase is over (rests mark the end of a phrase). When a new phrase starts, the condensing is recalculated for that new phrase. This is the default behavior, and you can override it with Condensing changes. Adding a condensing change (without changing anything) forces the recalculation of condensing, as if it were the beginning of a new phrase. You could try that when the second flute enters. Chances are the a2 with both voices on one stem behavior will then start there. You can also force it using the manual condensing feature of the condensing change window. Hope this helps whoever reads this.

[rrodseth]

@MarcLarcher

Hi rrodseth!
Just wondering whether you’ve asked the same question on FB — answered by Pianoleo… The answer is that condensing works on phrases. The condensing system won’t reset until the phrase is over (rests mark the end of a phrase). When a new phrase starts, the condensing is recalculated for that new phrase. This is the default behavior, and you can override it with Condensing changes. Adding a condensing change (without changing anything) forces the recalculation of condensing, as if it were the beginning of a new phrase. You could try that when the second flute enters. Chances are the a2 with both voices on one stem behavior will then start there. You can also force it using the manual condensing feature of the condensing change window. Hope this helps whoever reads this.

Thanks Marc. Yes I cross-posted and have updated that thread.
As you suggest, I was able to resolve it by inserting a condensing change at the beginning of the a2 section (with no changes in the dialog other than selecting Flute 1 and 2 on the left). Here’s what it looked like before.