This is a very trivial thing but it’s been bugging me. In Engraving Options/Condensing does anyone else find the phrasing of the “Text for ‘to’ indication” setting really odd? One of the literal meanings of “a” in Italian is of course “to,” but I have never ever heard someone refer to an a due indication as meaning “to” 2. I also often see an a due indication without a space as “a2”. Of course all I can do in Italian is order wine so I may be off base here, but here are a few descriptions of how this is commonly described:
Forsythe Orchestration pg 94 - The mark “a 2” (Italian a due, i.e. in the manner of two)
Ross pg 205 - If both instruments are playing in unison from the beginning of the passage, the symbol “a2” [note no space] should be placed above the staff.
Read Music Notation pg 343 - a2 [also no space] - symbol for the Italian a due, meaning both instruments play in unison
Read pg 448-9 - For lengthy rests and for unison (a2) [again no space] passages, a single staff can be employed. [examples on pg 449 have no space either]
Kurt Stone pg 175 - a 2 [space] if they are to play in unison [more on pg 176 too]
Gould pg 526 - The Italian a 2, a 3, and so on, indicates the number of doubling players in unison.
No idea how reliable the following are for notation but Merriam-Webster says a due means “together,” Dictionary.com says “together, in unison,” and Wikipedia says “A due in Italian or à deux in French is a musical direction meaning ‘for two’.”
Like I said this is a minor trivial thing, but I can’t find any reference at all calling this a “to indication,” nor have I ever heard anyone refer to it that way. Perhaps the phrasing could be changed to “text for unison indication” or something similar. Also the option to have “a2” without a space would be welcome as it often appears that way in scores and in engraving texts.