Hello, this is my first post in this Dorico forum. To learn using this wonderful software (Dorico Pro 5.1), I’m entering a few scores excerpts, after having completed the Dorico 5 First Steps tutorial. In this excerpt from Romeo and Juliet Ouverture, I have selected “a 2” for whole phrase unisons in the condensing options, but I’m getting something different from “a 2” unisons – please see the two screenshots. I also upload the Dorico project. What am I doing wrong?
You only have your f dynamic marking on one staff. Duplicate it exactly on both staves and you will get your a2.
Dorico tries to use the same type of condensing in one ‘phrase’. Phrases are delimited by rests. If you want to change the condensing if there’s no rest in the condensed parts, it’s often sufficient to place a Condensing Change (Engrave menu), and just switch the checkbox of the instruments for which a new condensing method should start.
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You only have your f dynamic marking on one staff. Duplicate it exactly on both staves and you will get your a2.
Strange. The marking f was already on both staves. You can check it in the Galley view of the file I uploaded. And no a2.
Hmmm… perhaps we’re speaking about different things. I was speaking about my first screenshot with the two bassoons (Fagotto 1 and 2). There, I expected the “a2” from bar 389 on (now solved as suggested by PjotrB) and both the bassoons have an f mark at bar 387, as shown below.
Ah, my screen wasn’t scrolled down enough and I didn’t see that screenshot.
Hi, sorry to bother you again. I’ve changed the post from solved to partially solved.
Today, working further on the project, I noticed that French horns (Corno francese) 1 and 2 – the very staves pointed out by Craig_F – don’t condense as I would expect: indeed, they never use a2 in spite of a lot of bars from #389 on that could be marked that way. (I’m quite sure yesterday they did after I fixed the f to both of them, as suggested by @Craig_F, but I could remember wrongly.) I tried with and without Condensing Change – no a2 in both cases.
However, all the other instruments display a2 as expected, it’s just the two French horns that do not. BTW, the two flutes use a2 even without needing a starting rest (to mark phrase beginning) and without a Condensing change – why?
I post below some fresh screenshots. I also upload the updated Dorico project, hoping someone is so kind to try seeing what’s going on. Thank you in advance for your help!
I don’t have time to look at this in detail right now. But, note that the automatic phrase detection has to have whitespace on both ends. So, at bar 405, the Horns diverge. So, put a condensing change there. You don’t need to actually change anything, just put it there as a marker.
I can look more in detail later.
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It worked! Thank you @Craig_F! 
Now I’d just like to understand why the two flutes condense as a2 with no rests and no Condensing Change.
Because the rhythms are identical and you have Allow mid-phrase unisons set.
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All clear now! Thank you again!
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