Chorus wears the garland of pioneering vocal ensemble

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles wrapped up its 25th season Friday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale with a celebratory program titled “You Made Me Love You: The Music of Judy Garland.” And once again, this fine ensemble offered a show that was far more than a mere collection of choral music.

Call it, instead, a vocal entertainment, a multimedia presentation that included a series of Garland film and television clips, spirited dance numbers, solo songs, choreographed hand and arm movements for the Chorus, and, of course, the warm vocal timbres of the ensemble’s 99 singers.

The eclectic production, in fact, made a convincing case for the Gay Men’s Chorus as a pioneering choral group, slyly expanding the length and breadth of the possibilities for vocal ensemble performances.

Each half of the show included a pair of beautifully staged and choreographed medleys showcasing individual dancing and singing ensembles -- “The Dixie Swells,” “The Babes” and “The Red Line” -- drawn from the full Chorus.

“A Couple of Swells” gathered material performed by Garland on a 1966 Sammy Davis Jr. television show. “Babes Medley” included high-spirited tap-dancing in a song assortment reaching from “Babes in Arms” to “Strike Up the Band.” “Rock-A-Bye/Swanee” featured a pair of venerable standards. And “Finale” added Garland classics “You Made Me Love You” and “The Trolley Song.”

The Chorus itself -- an extraordinary visual presence placed upon risers reaching a good 25 feet above the stage -- sang with well-rehearsed ease. Although many of the num- bers were arranged in relatively uncomplicated four-part harmony, a few -- especially “But Not for Me,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “Over the Rainbow” -- revealed the group’s impressive ability to perform atmospheric arrangements filled with subtly moving inner lines.

As with everything else in the program, the singing was a model of collective musicality -- individual talent at the service of a creative community.