Ligeti

Sorry, I accidently pressed enter before I was ready. I really like Ligeti's choral work. Things like his "Lux Aeterna" and "Requiem" just haunt me. I'd like some recommendations for other mind-blowing micropolyphonic droning pieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuAaKiX1sg

I have to post this too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71hNl_skTZQ

just because it is amazing.

not vocal but this reminds me of/inspired by debussy's more atmospheric works...try clouds

xela - the dead sea, the illuminated

jacaszek - treny

Oh God, where to start:

There's a five CD set entitled 'The Ligeti Project I-V' that I think was put out by Sony Records. It's a huge survey of a lot of his work and they're all perfect. I can say this because Gyorgy oversaw the recording and performances of every single track on these CDs.

Volume II which contains Lontano, Atmospheres, and Apparitions would be a good start on his orchestral stuff.

His chamber music is spectacular, though. Of note are all of his piano etudes, particularly the performances by Pierre Laurent-Aimard, who Ligeti initally had perform the pieces.

His two string quartets are incredible, with the second being particularly terrifying.

Another favorite are the ten pieces of his 'Musica Ricercata I-X'. These were written before he fled Hungary. They were an effort by him to develop a new musical language by putting limitations on the number of pitches he was able to use. The first piece only contains the note A up until the very end where the final note resolves to a D. I each successive piece he allows himself an additional pitch to employ and is very creative in the process.

That should be plenty to get you going.

Edit: I realize now that you were looking for droning pieces. In which case you should certainly get The Ligeti Project II. The second string quartet would also be a nice counterpart.