No standard suite from Sylvia, with its richly scored and charming melodies, has quite fallen into place and today's recordings generally draw from complete traversals of the ballet. Most presentations, however, include the Prelude, the fanfare "Les Chasseresses," the "Valse lente," the pizzicato section of the Divertissement, and the "Cortège de Bacchus." Two other movements usually find their way into the suite: the "Danse des Ethiopiens" and the Act III March. The Prelude begins as a bombastic processional, but it pulls up almost in mid-phrase and becomes a nocturnal forest fantasy, with quiet, distant horn calls providing the basis of lyrical material for winds and strings. Next comes a playful, rustic episode featuring flutes and other woodwinds, with a tender sub-interlude inserted in the middle of the section. The Prelude, really just a potpourri of good tunes, concludes with a restatement of the opening processional. "Les Chasseresses," billed as a fanfare, opens with heroic horn calls over a throbbing string figure; despite the ballet's forest setting, this music could serve equally well in a nautical adventure. A second section offers a skipping little tune, with short string phrases answered by the winds. A more vigorous passage brings back the fanfare material. The "Valse lente" makes a charming 3/4 dance out of less-than-promising materials: a little noodling figure that rises and hesitates, repeating again and again over a pizzicato accompaniment. The central section is louder and more sweeping, but the entire piece relies more heavily on the strings than any other section of the orchestra. The "Danse (or Pas) des Ethiopiens" ostensibly concerns the denizens of Africa, but the pow-wow beat and chirpy descending tune more strongly evoke Native Americans, at least as they were interpreted by outsiders. The ballet's greatest hit is the segment of the Act III Divertissement known simply as "Pizzicati." It's a quiet, tip-toeing little dance for pizzicato strings, with a brief interlude for woodwinds in the middle. The festive March that opens Act III has an irresistible toy-soldier character. This leads directly into the "Cortège de Bacchus," which begins with a flowing episode reminiscent of Meyerbeer, then a lighthearted, delicate return of the bombastic melody from the Prelude. More Meyerbeer material—this could also work in the "Triumphal March" from Verdi's Aida—leads into a section that dallies with fragments of the March and ends with a grand restatement of the Prelude's opening theme.

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