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I used to think drama in lighting and tone was just about contrast (that's certainly a part of it) but now I think it's mostly about large masses of darks. (Think "chiaroscuro".)
I think for future paintings that would aim for this sort of drama, I would probably use a small intense source of light. A small window in an otherwise darkened space, like Rembrandt often used, or a single very small and concentrated artificial light source would do it.
Here's one of the reference photos I'll use for the candle painting I referred to earlier. (I would, of course, paint the actual candle flame, not show it all blown out as it is in this exposure. Also, the color is distorted in this shot, I'll be doing life color studies.)
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