judith weir’s music has harmonies which are very exciting and original. her christmas carol "illuminare" has become very popular, but it is quite difficult and needs a good choir to pitch the notes of the dissonant chords. she often uses medieval history as inspiration for her music, as well as music from her native scotland, e.g. piobaireachd, which is a kind of variation form using small intervals. her music often tells stories. her operas include "a night at the chinese opera", "the vanishing bridegroom", "blond eckbert", and "armida", an opera for television.