BRAZILIAN PLAYS TO FULL HOUSE AT CHURCH

Brazilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati breathes guitar notes. It is his life.

This is evident in the way he holds the instrument and the ease with which his fingers, spider-like, find their place on the neck to form chords.

Bellinati played at Old St. Vincent's Church on the riverfront Sunday afternoon, at the invitation of Southeast Missouri State University professor of music Jeffrey Noonan.

A full house gathered at the church to listen to the Brazilian play.

Bellinati, born in Sao Paulo in 1950, looked more like a jeweler or a cobbler behind solid glasses than a world-famous guitarist. Bellinati won Brazil's equivalent of a Grammy in 1994. His musical career has allowed him to tour the world.

Before he arrived in Cape Girardeau on Saturday, he had been touring in Spain.

"He was scheduled to fly to Dallas. He made a special trip to be here," explained Noonan. "He's world class. He's at the top of the heap."

Noonan said he has been corresponding with the musician through e-mail since last autumn.

Bellinati offered selections written by Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994).

Particularly memorable were the liquid, jovial notes of "Antigua," and the melancholy "Valsa do Porto das Caixas," whose plucky, ascending melody was reminiscent of a Vivaldi largo.

Bellinati said he first picked up the guitar when he was 13 years old, inspired by his father's interest in the instrument. He said Old St. Vincent's offered good acoustics.

Bellinati will critique some of Noonan's students today at 10 a.m. in Brandt Hall on the SEMO campus. The event is open to the public.