Charles Hazlewood's new series 'The Birth of British Music'

Charles Hazlewood's  new series 'The Birth of British Music' starts on BBC2 on 9th May.  This four part series, authored and conducted by Charles Hazlewood with his orchestra, Army of Generals tells the stories of four great composers who have shaped the British musical landscape; Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelsohn and asks what does British music say about what it is to be British?

'It is one of the most famous insults in musical history: in the mid-19th century, the Germans declared that Britain was "the land without music".'