Using quenched chiral perturbation theory, we compute the long-distance
behaviour of two-point functions of flavour non-singlet axial and vector
currents in a finite volume, for small quark masses, and at a fixed gauge-field
topology. We also present the corresponding predictions for the unquenched
theory at fixed topology. These results can in principle be used to measure the
low-energy constants of the chiral Lagrangian, from lattice simulations in
volumes much smaller than one pion Compton wavelength. We show that quenching
has a dramatic effect on the vector correlator, which is argued to vanish to
all orders, while the axial correlator appears to be a robust observable only
moderately sensitive to quenching.Comment: version to appear in NP