The Departure is a symphonic interlude from the third act of Martinů's film-opera Three Wishes or Life’s Vicissitudes, H 175 (1929). The interlude follows right after the screening of a film retrospective of the previous two acts, in the form of a large-scale symphonic piece accompanied by modern scenographic visualizations. The composition was so impressive that it was published in 1965 by the Czech Music Fund in Prague as an independent concert piece.
Jaroslav Mihule, Martinů: Osud skladatele, Prague: Karolinum, 2002, p. 168.