Send us your thoughts on the Vivaldi double bill - Vivaldi's Women and Vivaldi: Gloria.

We had to write and say how much we appreciated this little gem. Besides featuring a beautiful piece of music, excellently played and sung, it gave a real sense of the setting within which Vivaldi's music was originally performed. More, please.
Maggie and Harvey Cox, Stockport, Cheshire

When the two programmes finished I felt a terrible sense of loss. I wanted it to go on and on.
Elizabeth Keith, North Berwick, East Lothian

Vivaldi's Women was a wonderful programme: fascinating, scholarly, enthusiastic and beautiful to look at. I had often wanted to know more about the orphans of the Pieta and their virtuoso playing. Immaculate production techniques with none of the superfluous background noise or jumpy visuals that mar so many programmes.
Jennifer Day, Cambridge

Watching this programme can only be described as an ethereal experience. To hear the wonderful songs of Vivaldi sung by and played by the women dressed in contemporary dresses was overwhelming to say the least. I've been to Venice but I wish I'd been there when this concert was held.
David Bassett, Swindon, Wiltshire

While not without interest, the programme started from a premise that was at best misleading and at worst dishonest. Far from the idea of using only women singers in works composed by Vivaldi for the Pietà being pioneering (the word was used in the recording) this practice has been accepted in principle by Vivaldi scholars for many years. Moreover, the famous Gloria and a group of other works were recorded by Andrew Parrott employing all-female vocal forces more than 12 years ago. The oratorio Juditha Triumphans has also been recorded in this way (by Alessandro de Marchi). To mount a programme of this kind, giving no acknowledgement to previous scholarship and musical practice, is unacceptable.
Brian Robins, Broye/France

Richard Vendome (Musical Director, Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi): I'm sorry if Brian Robins felt that we were trying to mislead. We set out to prove that Vivaldi's female tenors and basses probably sang at actual pitch, not an octave up as in some recent recordings. This is supported by Micky White's recent archival findings. Andrew Parrott is aware of our work, and in 2002 led a workshop with Oxford Girls' Choir (some of whom sang in the documentary) in which we experimented with various octave transpositions (and none). Catherine Bott and I discuss this matter further in "The Choir" (Radio 3, Easter Day), when we present a reconstruction of Vivaldi's Vespers for Easter 1739.

I nearly missed this little gem, tucked away on Saturday night. It was stunning. All the better for the incredible and infectious enthusiasm of Mickey White and all the girls in the choir. As soon as the programme started, I reached for my Eyewitness guide to plan my next trip
John Hesketh, Bristol