italic lyrics solved

[Stan Sanderson]

Using Lilypond 2.5.20, Mac OS 10.3.9

Problem: song with 2 versions (not verses) of lyrics (i.e., 2 songs 
using the same musical setting). I wished to print one version in 
regular text and the other version in italics (underneath the first, 
using \lyricsto).

Solution for italic text-

alternatetext = \lyricmode  {
                \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
                \set fontSize = #-1
                 \set stanza = "1"
                 Let shouts of glad -- ness rise
                <snip>
        }

I would suggest this might be added to the manual, since I found no 
obvious reference to using \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic. 
If I should have known it, I didn't. I discovered the solution by going 
to one of the first pieces I coded, where I had set the lyrics to bold 
text using a similar override.

I hope this message will provide a reference in the archives for future 
searches.

Stan