The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, led by guest conductor Nicholas Kraemer, perform the finale of Handel’s Zadok the Priest, Coronation Anthem No. 1, a relatively short, continuous masterwork that builds dramatically from a stately orchestral introduction to a great choral ouburst and on to a thrilling climax of “God save the King.”

In his review, Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein observed: “Nicholas Kraemer’s spirited performances of mostly celebratory music make these concerts feel like a holiday gift that arrived early. … Director Duain Wolfe’s admirable chorus of 74 voices was fully on its mettle in its crisp exchanges with the orchestra, and came into its own with an exultant account of Handel’s familiar coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, at the start of the concert.”

The all-Handel program, which also features Concerto grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 7 and Music for the Royal Fireworks, as well as soprano Amanda Forsythe as soloist in Laudate pueri Dominum and the motet Silete venti, repeats at 8 p.m. Dec. 2-3; for more information, click here.