The third movement of the Requiem, "Quid sum miser," offers the first example of how Berlioz contrasts the 'public' or 'cosmic' perspective of the last days with the 'private' imagination of the individual soul observing the cataclysmic events. While his orchestral forces are greater than those used by Verdi or Mozart for the 'cosmic' dimension, they are also more minimalist and spare for the 'private' perspective, allowing the ancient words to touch us in an unexpectedly intimate way.