RECORDS / The IoS Playlist: The five best records of the moment

Venetian Vespers. Gabrieli Consort & Players / McCreesh (Archiv, CD only). Swashbuckling period re-creation of what you might have heard at St Mark's

in 1643. Michael White

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor. Studer / Domingo / LSO / Marin (DG, CD only). Cheryl Studer confronts the legend of La Sutherland. Strong support from the delectable Jennifer Larmore. MW

David Baerwald: Triage (A&M, CD/tape). Strange, spooky tales in imaginative art-rock settings. RW

Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales (A&M, CD/LP/tape). Sting has made a great pop album. To find it, buy this, play it, tape the tracks you like instantly (there should be seven), and prepare to spend the week humming 'Love is Stronger than Justice'. Tim de Lisle

Ice-T: Message to the Soldier (Virgin, album track on Home Invasion). Hushed, sexy and understandably paranoid, Ice-T rallies the troops round his standard of truth and justice. BT