WRITTEN BY FATHER, SUNG BY DAUGHTER.

Byline: - Rob Lowman

Accompanied by a single acoustic guitar, Monica Mancini movingly sings the words, ``Dear heart, wish you were here ...''

Earlier overly orchestrated versions of ``Dear Heart'' can only be described as schmaltz. But on her new CD, Mancini - with her strong vocal and simple approach - rescues the song, giving it poignancy. It was, after all, written by her father, composer Henry Mancini, who died in 1994 at the age of 70.

``It was one song that I found very difficult to sing after Dad died. It took me about three years to be able to sing it,'' she says. ``I wanted `Dear Heart' to be very intimate and very about me talking to Dad.''

Tonight, Monica Mancini will perform some of her father's most famous songs, accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra at UCLA's Royce Hall. The invitation-only performance will be taped as a PBS special that will air nationally in December. The broadcast will also include interviews with Quincy Jones, Paul Newman, Julie Andrews and Johnny Mathis talking about the late composer who was known for his film and TV scores, including ``The Pink Panther,'' ``Hatari!'' and ``Peter Gunn'' along with the love themes that came from those scores - ``Moon River,'' ``Charade'' and ``The Days of Wine and Roses.''

Monica Mancini is the first artist signed to PBS Records, a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, and it's the first solo venture for the 40-something Mancini. It may seem kind of late to be starting a solo career, but Mancini has been ``very happy being a studio singer,'' emulating her mom, Ginny, who had a 30-year career as a studio singer.

``I watched my mom go to work and thought I'd love to do that if I were able,'' says Mancini, who was calling from Hartford, Conn., where she was performing her tribute show to her father that night.

So while admitting that the idea of a solo career has crossed her mind, she has made her living singing on lots of film scores (``Armageddon,'' ``Batman''), lots of commercials, lots of other people's records (Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton) and variety shows, including the Emmys and Academy Awards.

``Some people may think I get jobs because I'm Mancini's daughter,'' she says, ``but you don't get asked back if you can't cut it.''

But one listen to her new CD, which will be in stores Nov. 17, and you know she can cut it. ``Her voice spreads into a rapid vibrato that suggest the glamorous vocal equivalent of diamonds flashing,'' a New York Times critic wrote last July about one of her concerts.

``Thank God that Dad didn't sing and people can't draw comparisons there,'' Mancini says. ``We complement each other perfectly because he writes the songs and I sing the songs.''

Mancini says she only embarked on a solo career when composer/conductor Bill Conti (``Rocky''), who was filling in on concert dates for her father when he became ill, asked her to sing. ``I wouldn't be doing this if Dad was still alive,'' she says.

Now she has a five-record deal with PBS Records and is in discussions about her next album, though she doesn't think another CD of her father's works is likely.

In the meantime, ``I'm really proud of the fact I'm doing my dad's music,'' says Mancini, who used the memory of her father as inspiration while making the album.

``I had to find ways to make these songs my own. Especially with something like `Moon River,' which is something I knew I had to include on the CD but wasn't anxious to tackle. You think of Andy Williams when you think of `Moon River.'

``I thought of my dad throughout the making of the CD.''

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Photo

Photo: Monica Mancini, a longtime studio singer, performs songs composed by her late father, Henry, tonight at UCLA's Royce Hall in a concert being taped for PBS.