We present a chirally symmetric hadronic model for the vector and axial-vector correlators; in vacuum. The dominant contributions to these correlators come from intermediate pions, rho and al mesons which are calculated in one-loop approximation. The resulting spectral functions are compared with the data obtained by the ALEPH collaboration from tau decay. In the vector channel we find good agreement up to q(2) = 1 GeV2, in the transverse axial-vector channel up to q(2) = 2 GeV2, corresponding to the regimes dominated by two-pion or three-pion decay channels, respectively. The longitudinal axial correlator is in almost perfect agreement with the PCAC result. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.