Duplication in lyric box

[TonyEastwood]

To compose traditional (fugal) choral music I begin by pasting hyphenated text into the lyric box.

• I always use click assignment to put the lyrics under notes
  I always use filter copy to copy text between parts.
  I can't use clone (the music is not sufficiently homophonic ).

I'm so impressed by how well it works. However, filter copy continuously adds 'yet more text' into the lyric box. So after a little composing activity something that begins as :

Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis De-o, et in ter-ra pax ho-mi-ni-bus bo-næ vo-lun-ta-tis

becomes:

Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis De-o, et in ter-ra pax ho-mi-ni-bus bo-næ vo-lun-ta-tis. De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-tis-Glo-ri-a si-mis De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a tis-si-mis Glo-Glo-Glo-tis-si-ri-a ri-a ri-a mis De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-Glo-Glo-ri-a ri-a ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-Glo-Glo-Glo-tis-si-ri-a ri-a ri-a mis De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-Glo-Glo-ri-a ri-a ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-Glo-Glo-Glo-tis-si-ri-a ri-a ri-a mis De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis De-o, Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis De-o, Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis De-o, De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis De-o, De-o, De-o, Glo-ri-a in al-tis-si-mis in al-tis-si-mis De-o, De-o, De-o, et in Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a Glo-ri-a et in ter-ra et in ter-ra et in ter-ra pax ho-mi-ni-bus Glo-ri-a

Some of this text is linked into the score (one can click in the score and see something highlighted here ). But the link is invisible 'looking out' of the text box -- e.g removing the 16th appearance of "De-o" out of the lyric box might remove a"De-o" from underneath notes. Or it might not (e.g. because I worked on an idea and then removed it).

Is there any trick that would freeze my original hyphenated libretto text in the lyric box, and then for the text never to change no matter how often it got set or copied?

(Jason Loffredo excellent videos on Lyrics notes this problem but not how to mimimise it).

[TonyEastwood]

Just in case anyone reads this and sees no replies. I have invented a workable solution for longer choral works.

The essence of my solution is to paste the libretto section into a 'working area' in some lyric "sections.". Inevitably as I compose that will get messed up (as I illustrated above). However, when it gets too messed up I can print to pdf - remove all the text of the lyric "section" (which of course clears all the text from the score ). Then I can re-paste the clean libretto into a 'chorus' or 'verse' section and quickly add the words back under their notes (for finished homophonic sections I can use clone).

If anyone has a better work flow I'd love to know of it. The design philosophy of Finale seems aimed at the musical arranger, - who obviously knows everything they will do in advance. Many composers don't - they endlessly cut, paste, transpose and chop and change. The proper solution would simply be a "lyric composition mode" where the libretto text remains read only.