A FISTFUL OF LEGENDS; MORRICONE'S LATEST GIVES LIFE TO `1900'.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

It was an unusual assignment for film composer Ennio Morricone - recount in music the life of an imaginary piano virtuoso who never sets foot on land.

That describes in a nutshell ``The Legend of 1900,'' Giuseppe Tornatore's first English-language film. The movie, which opened Friday, is the romantic tale of a musician born at sea who lives his life within the confines of a trans-Atlantic steamer.

Named for the year in which he was born, 1900 (Tim Roth) is a prodigious keyboardist who attracts the attention of jazz great Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), who challenges 1900 to a piano duel.

For the jazz- and ragtime-inspired soundtrack, Morricone - who first caught the attention of Hollywood with his pulsating '60s scores for Sergio Leone's ``A Fistful of Dollars,'' ``For a Few Dollars More'' and ``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' - utilized classical and jazz elements, building a score that culminates in an end-title song with lyrics and vocals by ex-Pink Floyd member Roger Waters and guitar by Eddie Van Halen.

``The film was not meant to have a song,'' Morricone said. ``Roger Waters did a very good job, but I had nothing to do with it. It was something the record company wanted.''

The acclaimed sixth collaboration between the 71-year-old Morricone and Tornatore, who have been working together since ``Cinema Paradiso,'' which won the 1989 Academy Award for best foreign language film and whose theme music is currently used in a car commercial.

``It's a constant dialogue,'' Morricone said in Italian through a translator. ``I offer my ideas and he (Tornatore) either accepts them or sends them back - and I try something else. We have a very good working relationship.''

Known for incorporating rock, pop, jazz, classical, electronic and traditional music into his work, Morricone has composed more than 400 film scores, including the Oscar-nominated music for ``Bugsy,'' ``Days of Heaven,'' ``The Mission'' (also car-commercial fodder) and ``The Untouchables,'' plus ``Bulworth,'' ``Lolita,'' ``Wolf,'' ``In the Line of Fire'' and ``Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!''

Because his career has been so long and rich, Morricone is a major influence in the scoring world, says Michael Schelle, Indianapolis-based author of ``The Score: Interviews With Film Composers'' (Silman-James; $19.95).

``Ennio's been at it for over 40 years and completed hundreds of scores. He's a major influence on the ones just starting and the ones already established,'' Schelle said. ``He's known for quirky little musical elements - fragmented motifs that move in tonal and non-tonal directions. He's also especially proud of his orchestrations. That's why his scores always credit him with composition and orchestration. I'm a great admirer of his craft and imagination.''

In composing ``Legend,'' Morricone drew inspiration from the fact that the shipbound main character's birth certificate was never officially registered.

``Since he was never born, he will never die,'' the composer explained. ``He's immortal that way. With that premise in mind, I imagined this boy as a reincarnation of a musical genius from the past.''

For his part, Tornatore says he communicated with Morricone through what he calls ``emotional metaphors.'' He also spent time with the maestro on the phone while Morricone tinkered with themes on the piano.

``He'd play some things and I'd give him my opinion and it went on for a while like that,'' the director recalls. ``Many of the themes that are in the film were composed right in front of me.''

Morricone, of course, has working methods as diverse as the types of directors with whom he has collaborated. That list includes Oliver Stone, Brian De Palma, John Carpenter, Roman Polanski, Pedro Almodovar and Bernardo Bertolucci.

But mention Morricone to average film fans and chances are they'll quickly point to his early ``spaghetti western'' scores, which contained an innovative mix of atonal harmonica, whistling and ghostly choruses.

``I got better, but the first one (`Fistful of Dollars') was the worst music I ever wrote,'' Morricone insists. ``I refined my writing later on, but the inspiration came from something rather old that Leone had enjoyed, so I reworked it for the soundtrack.

``No one predicted that first film would be a success.''

Morricone was born in Rome and studied composition at the city's Academy of Santa Cecilia, which will soon award him an honorary doctorate of philosophy. His first film assignment, ``Il Federale,'' came in 1961. In March, 1994, the Society for the Preservation of Film Music presented him with its 11th annual Career Achievement Award.

``It was a great honor to be recognized by that organization, which is taken very seriously in my business,'' the composer said, taking a break from scoring the forthcoming De Palma picture. ``I used to always say the work itself is reward enough, but it truly is a gift to be singled out by your peers.''

And yet an Oscar has remained elusive.

``What can I possibly do?'' Morricone reflects. ``They're not giving it to me. I've had many achievements in the movies, but I've never seriously thought about the Oscar until lately. My only wish is they give it to me before my death.''

For a few dollars Mor(ricone)

Ennio Morricone rose to fame in the 1960s with his tense, evocative scores for director Sergio Leone's ``spaghetti westerns'' ``A Fistful of Dollars,'' ``For a Few Dollars More'' and ``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.''

Here are more of Morricone's best soundtracks.

``Once Upon a Time in America''

``Investigation of a Citizen Under Suspicion''

``The Untouchables''

``The Mission''

``Cinema Paradiso''

``The Night of the Shooting Stars''

``Once Upon a Time in the West''

``To Forget Palermo''

``Lolita''

``Days of Heaven''

``State of Grace''

``Bugsy''

``Bulworth''

``The Witches''

``La Cage aux Folles''

``The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man''

``Stay As You Are''

``The Inheritance''

``The Meadow''

``In the Line of Fire''

``Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!''

``Ginger and Fred''

``Everybody's Fine''

``Wolf''

``City of Joy''

``1900''

``The Battle of Algiers''

``Disclosure''

``U-Turn''

``Manifesto''

``Time of Destiny''

``The Legend of 1900''

- Fred Shuster

CAPTION(S):

Photo, box

PHOTO Among the film scores of Italian composer Ennio Morricone is the just-released English-language ``The Legend of 1900,'' as well as those ranging from ``A Fistful of Dollars'' to ``Cinema Paradiso.''

Box: For a few dollars Mor(ricone) (see text)